Market Commentary | Apple rally leads markets higher

Nerves over central bank action set the tone for a cautious day of trading on Thursday, with a Bank of England meeting on the day’s agenda. Stocks in Asia ended the day mixed, while in European markets nudged higher on the back of rising supermarket shares and energy stocks. On Wall Street, stocks were mostly higher too, with tech and energy shares leading Thursday’s rally.

The Bank of England left its key rate unchanged at the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, but suggested that it still expects to cut it again later this year if the UK economy weakens, as officials project. Investors will also be turning their attention to the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve policy decisions, which are expected at the central banks’ meetings next week. The ECB decided to hold policy steady when it met last week.

Retail stocks were in focus for investors. Topping the index was British supermarket chain Morrison’s. Shares rallied 8% as the retail chain posted a 34% rise in first-half earnings and said that it had not seen any change in customer sentiment, following the Brexit vote in June. The company also increased the interim dividend, sending shares higher. Shares of supermarket rival Tesco were also trading in positive territory, and added 4.4%, and Sainsbury climbed 2.1%.

However, shares in Next were in negative territory after it reported a slightly lower first-half profit before tax. Shares in Marks and Spencer also traded lower, falling 2.6%, along with H&M, which were down after the company reported a 7% rise in August sales, but missed analysts’ forecasts.

Shares in Apple continued where they left off the day before, recording a fourth straight day of gains. The tech giant has been among the best performers of the week, rallying 11% thanks to strong demand for its latest iPhone and confident analyst comments. Apple’s iPhone 7 goes on general sale on Friday and the company reported initial quantities of its iPhone 7 Plus have sold out. Shares were 3.4% higher, at $115.57.

Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company were also trading in the green, rising to their highest level in seven months. Shares were up 5.45% after the tyre company boosted its quarterly dividend by 43% as part of a plan to return as much as $4 billion to shareholders.

Shares in Twitter were also trading higher on Thursday. Twitter inked a deal with the NFL back in April to stream 10 of the league's Thursday Night Football games. That partnership means people will be able to watch the Bills and Jets for free on Twitter in most countries throughout the world. This will be the first of 10 games that Twitter will stream this year. Shares of Twitter rose 1.44%.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Rebecca Naudi, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, views and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.