Skip to main content

Featured

Greens Stun Labour in Historic Gorton & Denton Upset

  The Green Party's Hannah Spencer joyous after the results of the Gorton and Denton by-election were announced Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been dealt a significant political setback after the Green Party captured Gorton and Denton, a Greater Manchester seat Labour had held for nearly a century. The by‑election result pushed Labour into third place, behind both the Greens and Reform UK, highlighting growing fractures in Britain’s traditional two‑party landscape. Green candidate Hannah Spencer secured the victory with a commanding share of the vote, marking the party’s first parliamentary by‑election win in northern England. Reform UK finished second, while Labour’s unusually weak performance intensified pressure on Starmer amid ongoing political turbulence and calls for stronger leadership.  The loss of such a long‑standing Labour stronghold underscores shifting voter sentiment and raises questions about the party’s ability to maintain its traditional base. Analysts have...

article

Megacaps Rally as Investors Await Inflation Data and Major Bank Earnings


The stock market has been on a roller coaster ride lately, with investors keeping a close eye on inflation data and major bank earnings. On Wednesday, the market saw a boost as megacaps rallied, with Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia leading the charge. The S&P 500 index gained 0.57%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.75% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.45%.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield held near 4%, and a $37 billion auction of the notes drew above-average demand. Communication services was the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors, lifted by a roughly 4% rise in Meta Platforms’ stock to the highest level since September 2021, after Mizuho raised its price target to $470 from $400. Nvidia hit a record high after fellow chipmaker TSMC beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations.

After ending 2023 with a strong rally, stocks have struggled to find upward momentum, with the S&P 500 barely positive on the year, as mixed economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials have led investors to dial back expectations for the timing and size of any rate cuts from the central bank this year.

The market is reassessing its 2024 expectations in terms of earnings and interest rates, and really looking to justify the surge in prices that we saw in November and December. It’s sort of a good sign that the market is treading water early in the year because it implies that investors really don’t want to miss out on anything else that could be good.


Comments