Stocks, UK Economic Data, Oil Report

The euro fell to its lowest level of the year against the dollar as policy differences between the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve raised hopes that the currencies could reach parity.

The euro was trading at $1.063, down 0.88% as of 3:55 p.m. London time.

The ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, but sent its strongest signal yet of further rate cuts. Meanwhile, hopes for a short-term Fed rate cut are fading amid reports of higher-than-expected inflation on Wednesday and increasingly hawkish comments from policymakers.

— Karen Gilchrist

Food delivery company Just Eat led gains on the Stoxx600 in early afternoon trading, rising 5.7% as of 1:20pm in London.

Investors are continuing to analyze what activist investor Sachem Head’s 3.6% stake acquisition means for the company.

At the other end of the index, Sweden’s Avanza fell 5.2%. The online bank held its annual general meeting on Thursday and confirmed a dividend of 11.5 Swedish kronor ($1.06) per share.

UBS analysts lowered their price target on the stock on Tuesday, but Barclays raised it the next day.

— Jenny Reid

Carl Hazeley, Principal Analyst at Finimize, discusses the outlook for U.S. banks’ earnings season.

The International Energy Agency on Friday forecast oil demand growth in 2024, citing “unusually weak” OECD deliveries, a near-complete recovery after COVID-19 and a growing electric vehicle fleet. has been revised downward.

In its latest monthly oil market report, the IEA announced that it has revised down its forecast for oil demand growth in 2024 by about 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.2 million barrels.

The world energy watchdog said it expects the pace of expansion to slow further next year to 1.1 million barrels per day.

“we, [electric vehicle] “Sales in China and Europe in particular really reflect gasoline demand, but also in the U.S.,” Toril Bosoni, head of the IEA’s oil industry and markets division, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Friday. He spoke at

“Although there is a lot of talk about sales not growing as much as expected, at least in developed countries, particularly China, gasoline demand is falling due to sales of EVs and improvements in the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles.”

At 10:40 a.m. Friday in London, international benchmark Brent crude oil futures for June delivery were trading 0.8% higher at $90.5 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery were up 1%. It traded at $85.9 per barrel.

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— Sam Meredith

British government bond yields fell on Friday as the pound fell against the US dollar but rose against the euro.

As of 9:30 a.m. in London, the 10-year bond yield was down 6 basis points and the 2-year bond yield was down 4 basis points. Yields move inversely with prices.

Gilts could prove to be a popular asset in early 2024, with the Bank of England’s benchmark interest rate as high as 5.25% and policy makers emphasizing the message of ‘remaining high for a long time’. . Interactive Investors said Gilt had the highest net inflows of any investment on the platform since June 2023.

The dollar dominated on Friday as markets continued to assess whether strong U.S. inflation means the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates later than previously thought.

The pound fell 0.3% against the dollar to $1.251. The pound rose 0.16% against the euro, following the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) data and the European Central Bank’s latest monetary policy announcement.

— Jenny Reid

European markets opened higher on Friday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.9% in morning trading, with all sectors and major exchanges in positive territory.

Mining stocks led the rise, rising 1.7%.

— Sam Meredith

Britain’s economic output in February was in line with expectations, rising 0.1% month on month, figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday showed.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 0.1% from the previous month.

The data follows economic growth of 0.3% in January, which the ONS said was revised upwards from 0.2%.

— Sam Meredith

Goldman Sachs has updated its “Conviction List” of top stocks in Asia-Pacific for April by adding some stocks and deleting others.

The bank said it remained optimistic about the region and said the outlook for the second quarter was “solid.”

“Five factors are likely to influence Asian market performance in the second quarter: the onset of the Fed-led rate cutting cycle, elections and geopolitics, first quarter earnings results, market-specific policies, and (fundamental) “seasonality, but not seasonal,” analysts at the investment bank said as they announced the latest additions to the list.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amara Balakrishna

While many stocks look expensive in today’s market, there are still some that are cheap, and experts say some of them can be held for the next 10 years.

They shared with CNBC Pro their top picks and tips for picking undervalued stocks with long-term promise.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

European markets are poised to open in favorable regions on Friday.

According to IG data, the UK’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 31 points higher at 7,949, Germany’s DAX rises more than 100 points to 18,051, France’s CAC rises 47 points to 8,064 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is expected to rise 150 points to 33,212.

Investors are keeping an eye on February’s UK gross domestic product (GDP) statistics and the International Energy Agency’s monthly oil market report.

— Sam Meredith