U.K. stock markets edged higher on Friday, buoyed by optimism that a U.S. debt default can be avoided and increased consumer confidence. The FTSE 100 index traded 0.3% higher, the mid-cap FTSE 250 traded largely flat and the combined FTSE 350 rose 0.2%. U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy expressed confidence that a deal could shortly be reached to lift the U.S. debt ceiling. The latest survey from market research firm GfK indicated that British consumer confidence has risen for the fourth month in a row to its highest since February 2022. Smiths Group (OTC:SMGZY) (LON:SMIN) raised guidance for organic revenue growth to 10% for the financial year after a strong third quarter. The U.K. government announced plans to support its semiconductor industry, seeking to boost its domestic chipmaking capabilities in the wake of disruptions to global supplies over the last year or so. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is attending the latest Group of Seven summit in Japan’s Hiroshima, a gathering at which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend in person to ask for new sanctions against Russia.
Author: fortraders
S&P/ASX 200 Rises 0.59% at End of Trading Day in Australia
Australian stocks closed higher on Friday, with gains in the IT, Financials and Telecoms Services sectors leading the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.59%. Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) was the best performer, rising 26.02% or 0.41 points to 2.01. EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) and AUB Group Ltd (ASX:AUB) also saw strong gains, adding 6.25% and 5.88% respectively. On the other hand, Nufarm Ltd (ASX:NUF) was the worst performer, falling 4.63% or 0.28 points to 5.77.
In commodities, gold futures for June delivery rose 0.49% or 9.55 to $1,969.35 a troy ounce, while crude oil for June delivery rose 0.58% or 0.42 to hit $72.28 a barrel. The AUD/USD was unchanged at 0.66, while the AUD/JPY fell 0.08% to 91.78. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 103.29.
Nikkei 225 Rises 0.77% at End of Trading Day in Japan
Japan stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 index hitting a new 5-year high. Gains in the Precision Instruments, Electrical/Machinery and Machinery sectors led the index higher. Ricoh Co., Ltd. (TYO:7752) was the best performer, rising 7.69% or 81.00 points to 1,134.00. Yaskawa Electric Corp. (TYO:6506) and Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631) also gained 5.38% and 4.97% respectively. Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) was the worst performer, falling 2.86% or 410.00 points to 13,910.00.
Crude oil for June delivery rose 0.97% to $72.56 a barrel, while Brent oil for delivery in July rose 1.03% to $76.64 a barrel. The June Gold Futures contract also rose 0.39% to $1,967.35 a troy ounce. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 103.30.
Footage Captures Greece Turning Away Migrants at Sea
On April 11, a group of 12 migrants, including men, women, children and an infant, were locked inside an unmarked van on the Greek island of Lesbos. They were then forced onto a speedboat, transferred to a Greek Coast Guard vessel, and abandoned in the middle of the Aegean Sea in an inflatable emergency raft. This was in violation of Greek, European Union and international law.
The ordeal was captured on video by an activist and verified by The New York Times. 11 of the asylum seekers were located at a detention center in Izmir, Turkey, and recounted their experience. This incident highlights the mistreatment of asylum seekers by the Greek government, and the need for greater protection of vulnerable migrants.The Turkish Coast Guard has been at the forefront of the migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea. In a recent video, the Coast Guard was seen rescuing a family of seven from a raft in the sea. The family, consisting of Sulekha Abdullahi and her six children, had been cast adrift by the Greek Coast Guard. The video was verified by a frame-by-frame analysis, geolocating key events and confirming the time and day using maritime traffic data. The family was interviewed in Turkey and their accounts matched the events in the video. The Turkish Coast Guard has been praised for their efforts in rescuing migrants and upholding international laws and E.U. rules governing how asylum seekers must be treated.The plight of 12 asylum seekers who were set adrift in the Aegean Sea by the Greek authorities has highlighted the increasingly hardline stance taken by the European Union towards migrants. The group, which included several small children, had been rounded up by masked men and put in a van before being taken out to sea in a speedboat. They were then pushed onto a black inflatable life raft and set adrift in the Aegean. The incident was captured on video and verified by the European Commission, who expressed concern and said they would take the matter up with the Greek authorities.
The incident is part of a wider trend of European countries cracking down on migrants, with Poland, Italy and Lithuania recently changing their laws to make it easier to repel migrants and to punish those who help them. The Greek authorities have gone even further, resorting to extrajudicial expulsions that sweep up even the most vulnerable with the participation of its maritime forces.
The 12 asylum seekers had all fled war and dictatorship in their home countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen. After being rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard, they were taken to a detention center in Izmir, where they recounted their ordeal. They had been taken from the brush where they had been hiding, their hijabs torn off and their belongings taken.
The incident highlights the desperate plight of migrants and the lengths they will go to in search of a safe home. It also serves as a reminder of the need for the European Union to fully respect its obligations under the E.U. asylum rules and international law, including ensuring access to the asylum procedure.Mahdi, a young Ethiopian man, had high hopes when he left his home country for Turkey in 2020. He was looking for a fresh start after his college, the Jimma Institute of Technology, temporarily closed due to the pandemic. However, his dreams were quickly dashed when he realized that the Turkish economy was in free-fall and Turks were no longer welcoming of migrants.
His roommate, Miliyen, had fled to Sudan from Eritrea with his mother when the two countries reached a peace agreement in 2018. But when the Ethiopian government, aided by Eritrea’s dictator, unleashed a brutal war, Miliyen had to flee again. He has since lost contact with his mother and has no idea if she is alive.
The fate of Mahdi and Miliyen, along with the Somali women and children they were travelling with, is now unclear. They are stuck in limbo in a Turkish detention center, where they are denied the right to apply for international protection.
The group’s only hope is to be granted asylum in the European Union, where more than 80 percent of Eritreans and more than half of the Somalis who applied for protection last year were successful. Until then, they remain in limbo, hoping for a better future.
Ukrainian Companies Expand Overseas Amid Domestic Conflict
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, many businesses have been forced to look beyond the country’s borders to keep their companies growing. With over 5 million Ukrainians registered in Europe, many firms have turned to new markets in neighbouring Poland and Eastern Europe to boost business. Companies such as Nova Post, !FЕST restaurant group, and Kormotekh have invested in expanding production both in Ukraine and Lithuania, and have opened branches in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Estonia.
These companies have benefited from popular support across many countries, and are hoping that ‘Made in Ukraine’ becomes a trusted brand globally. They are also looking to the future, investing in new markets and expanding production, while helping civilians and the armed forces by delivering necessities and making donations. With the right strategies, these businesses can continue to grow despite the ongoing conflict.
Australia’s Progress Toward Quicker Electric Vehicle Adoption Will Be Sluggish
Australians are increasingly turning to electric vehicles (EVs) as a more environmentally friendly option, but the country is facing a challenge in providing the necessary infrastructure to support the boom. The government has announced plans to set vehicle emissions standards and has doubled funding for cleaner transport to A$500 million, but public charging infrastructure remains sparse and under-powered by global standards.
The government is partnering with organisations such as NRMA Energy and Infrastructure to build 135 charging sites across the national highway network over the next two to three years, but the process of connecting to the grid is expensive and inefficient. BP is aiming for roughly 300 chargers across its petrol stations in Australia by the end of 2024, but the rollout has started small due to grid issues.
The challenge is further compounded by the global demand for ultra-fast chargers, with up to 18-month waits for those ordered today. Numerous studies must be done to make sure chargers do not dim the lights for existing customers, and the introduction of mass EV charging will take big investment.
Despite the challenges, electric vehicle sales are trending up, accounting for 8% of all car sales in April, up from 1.1% a year earlier. With the right infrastructure in place, Australia could be well on its way to becoming a leader in the EV revolution.
Stock Futures in Europe Rise Amid Optimism for U.S. Debt and Positive Earnings Reports
European stock markets are expected to open higher on Friday, buoyed by optimism that a U.S. debt default will be avoided and strong corporate earnings. Wall Street closed at its highest levels since August 2022, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged to its highest level since 1990. Top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy indicated confidence that an agreement to lift the U.S. debt ceiling can be achieved in the near future. In Europe, two-thirds of the STOXX 600 companies have reported first-quarter results so far and exceeded estimates. Friday is set to be relatively quiet in terms of corporate results, with a trading update from U.K. engineering company Smiths Group the highlight. However, cash-strapped consumers are likely to rein in their spending and the first quarter’s relatively robust corporate margins may come under pressure. The European Central Bank raised interest rates earlier this month and further hikes look likely.
FT: Ad Group Declares Twitter Low Risk After Appointment of New CEO
GroupM, the world’s largest advertising agency, has announced that it is no longer considering Twitter a “high-risk” platform for advertising. This comes after the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the new chief of the social media platform. Yaccarino is known for modernizing the advertising business at NBCUniversal.
GroupM had previously flagged various issues with Twitter, including a wave of high-profile impersonations and a large number of executives leaving or being fired. The agency had been waiting for a “return to normalcy” in regards to the amount of harmful content on the platform, which rose after the acquisition.
Last year, Twitter laid off half its workforce but said cuts were smaller in the team responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation. With Yaccarino at the helm, GroupM is now “cautiously optimistic” about the future of the platform.
Alibaba Stock Plummets as Quarterly Earnings and Chinese Prospects Disappoint
Investors were disappointed with Alibaba Group’s (HK:9988) quarterly earnings report on Friday, sending the Hong Kong-listed shares of the e-commerce giant tumbling more than 5%. The firm logged revenue of RMB208.20 billion for the three months to March 31, lower than analyst estimates of RMB210.3B. Its revenue for the year to March 31 also rose just 2% to RMB868.69B, its worst pace of growth since the company listed in 2014.
The stock took little support from Alibaba saying that it will spin off and list its cloud unit within the year. While Chinese consumer spending rose somewhat this year, it still remained well below pre-COVID levels. But it still helped Alibaba log a net profit of RMB23.52B for the year, compared to a loss of RMB16.24B last year.
The firm also faces a brewing price war in its cloud business with rival Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700), amid weak corporate demand and excess capacity in the space. Alibaba is also attempting to break into the generative artificial intelligence space with its Tongyi Qianwen model.
The broader Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell 1.1% on Friday, as losses in Alibaba spilled over into other heavyweight technology stocks.
Earthquake in South Pacific Prompts Tsunami Warning
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the South Pacific on Friday, triggering tsunami warnings for a number of Pacific island nations. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami warning system reported waves as high as three feet could hit Vanuatu, an island nation with a population of about 300,000. The authorities in Vanuatu urged people in coastal areas to move to higher ground. The U.S. agency issued a tsunami alert for coasts within 600 miles of the earthquake epicenter, including Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Kiribati, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency urged people along its northeastern shore to move away from beaches, harbors and rivers. People in the affected areas should remain vigilant and follow the advice of local authorities.