Minutes from the Fed’s January meeting, also released yesterday, remained in line with expectations; The central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates and needs more proof that inflation is tamed.
The FTSE 100 ended Wednesday’s session down 0.8%, hampered by financials after disappointing results from HSBC. The index is hovering around zero this morning.
Lloyds Banking Group launched a £2.0 billion share buyback program following a stronger-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter of 2023. The British lender reported pretax profit of £1.775 billion for the quarter ending December 31, surpassing the £1.65 billion consensus. However, net income fell to £4.23 billion £4.69 billion in the previous year, missing the £4.43 billion estimate.
Rio Tinto's 2023 profitability fell short of expectations, with sales and adjusted operating profit at $54 billion and $15 billion, respectively. Iron Ore remained a highlight, with strong performance despite challenges in Aluminium and Copper. The company is targeting aggressive medium-term growth spend and focusing on projects like Simandou and Oyu Tolgoi for future growth.
In other corporate news, Rolls-Royce Holdings hailed a "step-change" in performance for the last year but not resume dividend payments. Hargreaves Lansdown reported a rise in revenue but a decline in half-year profit. Galliford signed three new infrastructure contracts totaling almost £100 million.
Things to read today:
- Can US stock returns normalize? (Financial Times).
- Revolutions take generations (The Atlantic).
- China's race to dominate AI faces a problem: it depends on American technology (New York Times).
- The terrifying effectiveness of the Russian poisoning operation (Financial Times).
- Nvidia Says AI Has Hit 'Tipping Point' (Bloomberg)