US markets at record high in longest streak since August
Louise Moon
·28 min read
Wall Street
Oil climbed back above $60 a barrel on Monday, for the first time since Covid hit the global stage, to reach its highest level in more than a year.
The market’s hopes of a quicker economic revival on expectation of the $1.9 trillion US stimulus package, the vaccines rollout, as well as supply curbs by producer group Opec and its allies, have buoyed oil prices. Brent crude rose by 2pc to settle at $60.56 per barrel.
“Ultimately, the recovery in oil prices hangs on the sustainability of the [economic] recovery,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst, Oanda Europe.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group ditched its stake in French Connection amid a surge in the struggling retailer’s share price, it emerged on Monday. French Connection’s shares had soared last week on takeover talks. The Sports Direct owner completed the sale of its 24.93pc stake that same day, according to a filing on Monday.
On the same day, French Connection surged 64pc after saying it had received two separate takeover approaches from potential suitors. It had risen 41pc the previous day.
Frasers Group sold its stake – worth up to almost £4m – on Thursday, meaning it missed out on the additional gains after takeover talks were confirmed.
Frasers Group shares broadly shrugged off the shift, falling 9p to 468.6p. French Connection meanwhile was down 0.3p at 25.3p.
Markets were pretty calm on Monday, with the FTSE 100 rising moderately.
Mining companies provided most of the upwards drive, as investors continued to bet on global demand making a solid recovery as vaccines cause the pandemic to abate.
Russian steel maker and iron ore miner Evraz was the biggest blue chip riser, climbing 20.4p to 523.6p, while materials groups Anglo American and Antofagasta also climbed solidly.
BP was the second highest climber, rising 9.9p to 261.95p after becoming the preferred bidder for a major slice of North Sea seabed to be used for offshore wind.
Royal Dutch Shell also had the wind in its sails, after signing a deal to supply e-commerce titan Amazon with offshore energy from an offshore wind farm under construction in the Netherlands. Shares in Shell rose 25p to £13.05.
Online retailers – in many ways the big winners of the pandemic – suffered on both the FTSE 100 and 250 following a Sunday Times report that said the Treasury is mulling over a windfall tax after lockdowns sent their sales surging.
On the FTSE 100, grocery delivery group Ocado fell 62p to £27.46, while white goods retailer AO World dropped 19.5p to 315.5p to become the biggest mid-cap faller.
Housebuilder Barratt Developments fell 15p to 695p after being downgraded by Jefferies. Analyst Glynis Johnson cut the FTSE 100 group’s rating to “hold” saying a strong recent run had left its shares with limited potential for further gains. She simultaneously upgraded rival Taylor Wimpey to a “buy rating” – its shares rose 0.2p to 161.8p.
High street stalwart Marks & Spencer fell 4.2p to 134.2p after Royal Bank of Canada analyst Richard Chamberlain said its shares were “no longer in the bargain basement” following a recovery during the second half of last year.
06:38 PM
Wrapping up
That is all from us today. Here are some of our top stories so far:
Thank you for following along - Louis will be back with you bright and early!
06:12 PM
Prezzo considers pre-pack administration and CVA
Prezzo
The owner of Prezzo is considering putting the restaurant chain through an insolvency process just weeks after buying the business.
My colleague Hannah Uttley reports:
Cain International, a property investor which acquired Prezzo in December, is in discussions with landlords over rent arrangements and arrears as it tries to secure the restaurant group’s future, Sky News reported.
The company is said to be working with advisers from FTI Consulting on a number of options for Prezzo, including a pre-pack administration and company voluntary arrangement, an insolvency procedure which would allow it to renegotiate rental terms with landlords and shut sites.
Cain, which also owns crazy golf chain Swingers, is expected to announce a decision on a potential restructuring in the coming weeks. Prezzo was acquired by Cain as a going concern after it was put up for sale by private equity house TPG in July.
Plans to pursue an insolvency deal for Prezzo come after the firm shut dozens of sites through a financial restructuring that included a debt-for-equity swap in 2018.
A spokesperson for Cain International confirmed it was in discussions with Prezzo’s various stakeholders including landlords.
05:48 PM
US markets at record high in longest streak since August
Wall Street's main indexes are continuing with their gains from last week, reaching all-time highs. Investors are, once again, betting on hopes that a fiscal relief package and vaccine roll-outs will help with a speedy economic recovery. Quarterly earnings are also upbeat.
Boosting sentiment was US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's coment on Sunday that America would get back to full employment next year if Congress approves the $1.9 trillion package. On Friday Congress approved a budget plan that would allow the stimulus to get through in the coming weeks without Republican support.
The government has given out almost 33m doses of vaccines and the daily average of new infections is trending lower.
The S&p 500 and Dow Jones are gaining for a sixth straight session: their longest streak of gains since August.
By early afternoon:
S&p 500: +0.41pc to 3,902.88
Dow Jones: +0.48pc to 31,297.68
Oil prices also rose to their highest in more than a year, above $60 a barrel. The price of Brent crude oil rose by 1.63pc to $60.31 per barrel.
05:16 PM
What advice does Bailey give to the FCA now?
When asked what advice he would give to the current FCA leadership, Mr Bailey said, in rather vague terms:
"The work to develop, transform and keep the FCA up to date will never finish because the world out there changes".
He referenced cryptocurrency as an example of the fast changing of the times, and something that needs to be kept up with, as well as events like the recent trading in GameStop: "its basically like musical chairs, pass the parcel".
The Governor later added he would advise the FCA to "have a very clear prioritisation process, be transparent about it, be open to challenge on it, keep developing the tools for intelligence and practice supervision".
He added there is a need to "continue to build the capabilities of the FCA, both staff and systems".
05:08 PM
Napster to list in London this month
MelodyVR
Music streaming pioneer Napster is debuting on the London stock market later this month, marking the first time it has had its own public listing since being founded in 1999, reported the Guardian.
Napster will start trading on the AIM from Feb 26, following its parent firm Rhapsody International being bought out for $70m (£53m) by London-listed British music tech startup MelodyVR in August.
MelodyVR, which films and streams gigs fans watch with virtual reality headsets, said today that it is raising up to £10m to fund the expansion of the streaming business.
It also plans to change its name to Napster after asking shareholders for permission at the company's general meeting at the end of February. The MelodyVR/Napster business now has a market value of about £100m.
Swiss firm Nice & Green is buying £6.5m worth of the shares being placed in the fundraising move, with another £3.5m worth of stock open to retail investors.
04:45 PM
FCA was overwhelmed, with lack of resources and funding: Bailey
Mr Bailey said the FCA was overwhelmed at the time of the LCF scandal, and didn't have enough legal powers or resources to enforce everything, and do the job that was expected of it by parliament.
A key failing, he said, was its prioritisation and dedication of resources towards tackling whistle blowing. There were not enough resources, he says, to give more to the contact centre which may have picked up the LCF scandal quicker.
"It just so happened the LCF didn't have a whistle blower", he said, adding he thinks prioritising whistle blowing was the right thing to do at the time.
Mr Bailey said there was an overall lack of funding for the FCA, as he admitted it failed to protect retail customers.
04:28 PM
Bailey's biggest change in hindsight: LCF
When asked what he would change, looking back at the LCF scandal, Mr Bailey said:
"Straightforwardly, I would have wished that we could have saved the bond holders the sufferings they've had, there is no question about that."
04:15 PM
Handover
It’s time for me to hand over to my colleague Louise Moon, who will steer the blog into the evening. Thanks for following along today!
04:12 PM
Firms seek ‘no jab, no job’ guidance
Lawyers have called for ministers to provide guidance to help employers navigate legal pitfalls around requiring staff to receive Covid vaccines before returning to work.
My colleague Michael O’Dwyer reports:
City law firms say they have received a surge in inquiries in recent weeks as boards anticipate the wider rollout of coronavirus jabs to people of working age.
Hannah Netherton, an employment law partner at CMS, a City firm, said vaccinations were “a minefield of legal and ethical issues for employers”.
She said: “We are definitely seeing organisations keen to understand their rights and obligations when it comes to this issue.”
Some companies such as Pimlico Plumbers have attracted controversy over suggestions they could implement a “no jab, no job” policy that would force workers to be inoculated or risk being dismissed.
Mr Bailey is asked about the operations of the FCA under his leadership, particularly with regards to problems with the contact centre.
He notes that staff training, retention and continuity was a big challenge, putting this is part down to the growing amount of abuse call-handlers were receiving from people who called in. He says there was racist, anti-semitic and homophobic abuse.
Mr Bailey says the call was “very disturbing”, and that he wishes he had known about it sooner.
The SNP’s Alison Thewliss asks whether staff were empowered to raise concerns, or if they were uncomfortable having to offer advice on topics the did not understand.
Mr Bailey says staff should “never be put in that place”, and acknowledges that there shortfalling in the chain of command that led to delays in such issues being flagged.
03:57 PM
Personal responsibility
Onto the question of Dame Gloster’s stated unhappiness with efforts made by Andrew Bailey to have his name left out of her report.
Mr Bailey, for his part, says there has been “misrepresentation” of what occurred, saying his response was in relation to questions raised in the draft report about personal responsibility.
He says Dame Gloster revised her initial scope to focus on responsibility, rather than capability.
Mr Bailey (whose tone is pretty angry) says he had no problems with matters of responsibility because – as he said earlier – he takes responsibility for everything that happened at the regulator under his watch. He says he was never consulted on the issue of culpability during the review process.
He says the matter as described by Dame Gloster has been raised as a criticism, but that it was never meant in that way.
03:47 PM
LCF timeline
Here’s a timeline of the LCF collapse for anyone needing a catch-up:
03:47 PM
Issues with contact centre
Mr Bailey says he only became aware of issues with the FCA’s contact centre in the end phase of his time as chief executive of the regulator.
Dame Gloster’s report said the FCA had to change its policies to ensure call-handlers promptly refer allegations of fraud to authorities within the regulator, and not reassure customers about the “nonregulated activities of a firm based on its regulated status”.
Mr Stride says there was a “pattern of misinformation”.
03:38 PM
Hearing begins
The LCF Treasury select committee has begun. Mel Stride, the chair, opens by asking which parts of the scandal Andrew Bailey takes responsibility for.
Mr Bailey says he takes responsibility for everything that happened at the Financial Conduct Authority under his leadership.
He says he wasn’t aware of the existence of LCF until about the point the company collapsed, and denies he had any personal connection with fiasco surrounding its collapse.
Mr Stride suggests there may have been a shortfall in the development of policies that had occurred and contributed to problems.
03:24 PM
Watch Bailey grilling live
You will be able to watch the meeting live here (Parliamentlive.tv)
03:23 PM
Coming up: Andrew Bailey faces grilling over LCF collapse
At about half past, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will face questions from MPs over how he handled the collapse of London Capital & Finance while head of the City watchdog.
As my colleague Russell Lynch reports:
Mr Bailey, who appears before MPs on the Treasury select committee, was in charge of the Financial Conduct Authority when the company collapsed in 2019, leaving 11,000 bondholders with losses of £237m and costing many their life savings.
LCF was regulated by the City watchdog but sold ultra-risky unregulated mini-bonds to investors on the strength of its accreditation from the FCA, advertising returns of up 8pc.
But an excoriating review of the episode by Dame Elizabeth Gloster published in December said the FCA missed at least six red flags indicating that the firm was breaching financial rules. Mr Bailey, who waived his bonus at the FCA, has apologised over the LCF failures.
My colleague Tim Wallace has a full report on the National Institute of Economic and Social Research’s grim forecasts. He writes:
Lingering strains of coronavirus could force politicians to keep social distancing measures in place for longer, prompting nervous businesses to hold back on investment and cautious households to keep on saving money they would otherwise spend.
“We envisage social distancing and remote working will remain in place, and there will be a gradual return to normal,” said Hande Kucuk at NIESR.
US stocks indices hit new record highs after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US can return to full employment in 2022 if it enacts a robust enough relief package.
Tesla also opened 2.5pc higher after its record $1.5bn Bitcoin investment.
US market data - Bloomberg
01:50 PM
London rents could tumble by a fifth if population drop continues
Rents in London would tumble by as much as a fifth if the capital’s population plunge becomes a sustained slump as vacancy rates soar, property market experts have warned.
My colleague Tom Rees reports:
The sharp fall in the city’s population during the pandemic will trigger a 8pc year-on-year tumble in rents in the first quarter, according to Andrew Wishart, property economist at Capital Economics.
The slump in the capital’s housing market could deepen if the estimated 700,000 drop in London’s population fails to reverse after lockdown is lifted. This worse-case scenario would spark a 20pc plunge in rents and threaten house prices as landlords are forced to sell up, Capital Economics warned.
Mr Wishart said the share of rental properties vacant in London may have jumped by almost 10 percentage points, a sharp rise from its pre-Covid level of 1.9pc. But he predicted that rents would suffer an annual fall of 3pc in 2021 on expectations that many of the workers that left London return.
A mining company that hopes to revive the Cornish metals industry has raised more than £8m from investors as it prepares to float on London's junior Aim market.
My colleague Julia Bradshaw writes:
Cornish Metals owns the mineral rights to 15,000 hectares of resource-rich land across Cornwall. Its two main projects are South Crofty and United Downs, which are a group of mines in and around Camborne and Redruth.
The company believes there is a large amount of untapped tin, copper and lithium in this part of Cornwall, referred to as “the richest square mile on earth” in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Richard Williams, chief executive, said there was strong demand for these metals, which are fundamental to growing high-tech industries, spanning electric cars, battery technology, renewable energy, computing, data storage and robotics.
The price of Bitcoin has soared to a new record after Tesla said it has investment $1.5bn into the cryptocurrency, and will begin accepting it as a form of payment.
Price have jumped as much as 13.3pc to $43,725 per bitcoin.
In a SEC filing, the car company – run by Elon Musk, who has long been influencing crypto prices through his tweets – said:
In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity. As part of the policy, which was duly approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets including digital assets, gold bullion, gold exchange-traded funds and other assets as specified in the future.
Thereafter, we invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin under this policy and may acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term. Moreover, we expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt.
12:54 PM
NIESR: UK economy will be 5pc smaller than pre-virus predictions by 2025
Here’s some more detail on the National Institute of Economic and Social Research’s latest set of forecasts, which include a sharp downwards revisions to its UK growth expectations (see 12:04pm update).
The research group says early indications suggest the economic impact of the current lockdown will be more severe than November’s, but less sharp than during the initial spring lockdown.
Here’s how its estimates for GDP look – and how it thinks the UK’s perfromance will compare to other G7 countries (read: poorly).
NIESR - NIESR
Its deputy director, Dr Hande Kucuk, said:
Despite the roll-out of vaccines, Covid-19 will have long-lasting economic effects. By 2025, the level of GDP is forecast to be around 6 per cent lower compared with pre-Covid-19 expectations, reflecting lower consumption caused by higher unemployment, weaker business investment due to stressed balance sheets and uncertainty during the pandemic, and the adoption of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU which imposes more barriers to trade than before.
12:43 PM
Battery-maker AMTE Power plans Aim float
A British battery-maker that supplies high-performance power packs for car companies is to float on the Aim market with an estimated £50m valuation.
My colleague Alan Tovey reports:
AMTE Power is raising £7m as it taps into the move towards electrification and the company already works with automotive companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Cosworth and Williams, the oil and gas sector and industrial energy storage markets.
Started in 2013 by former engineers at QinetiQ, the defence research company, AMTE designs and produces lithium-ion battery cells for specialist markets.
Directors of the company believe they have found a gap in the market as major international battery producers do not cater to such niche applications.
12:04 PM
Niesr: UK economy will grow just 3.4pc this year
UK first-quarter growth will be among the worst in the G-7, with GDP over the whole of 2021 set to rise just 3.4pc, according to one of Britain’s top economic research bodies.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research projects UK output fell 10pc over last year, and will grow 4.3pc in 2022. It will take until the end of 2023 for GDP to fully recover, its analysts said.
It had previously predicted (in October) that the economy would expand 5.9pc this year.
In a webinar ahead of the release of its full forecasts, NIESR also said unemployment is projected to rise to 7.5pc by the end of the year.
11:44 AM
Full report: German industrial recovery stalls
My colleague Tom Rees has a full report on this morning’s stagnant German industrial production data. He writes:
ING economist Carsten Brzeski said the stagnation “increases the risk that industrial production will not be able to save the economy from contraction in the first quarter” after Germany avoided a fall in GDP in the final three months of 2020.Andrew Kenningham, Europe economist at Capital Economics, warned factory production most likely fell in January.
Electrocomponents keeps profit outlook unchanged as costs offset higher revenues
Tech distributor Electrocomponents has kept its outlook for full-year profit unchanged, as rising costs offset the benefit of increased sales.
The FTSE 250 group’s like-for-like revenues rose 8pc over the four months to the end of January, with its American and Asia Pacific operations strongest.
Chief executive Lindsley Ruth said:
Revenue growth has improved in every region over the last four months as we have continued to build on our strong foundations to accelerate growth. We have ensured customer service remains our core focus. However, the heightened freight, labour and logistical costs we are experiencing are likely to persist at a time of ongoing investment in our proposition.
It said that its “strong financial position” left it well-prepared to seize growth opportunities.
10:41 AM
Cost of insuring directors zooms higher
The cost of insuring British directors has more than doubled in the last year due to concerns about corporate governance and pandemic claims, leading to fears that smaller businesses are struggling to shoulder the burden.
My colleague Simon Foy reports:
Government officials are in talks with insurance executives about the soaring costs, while business leaders and ministers have also raised concerns, the Financial Times reported.
Meanwhile mooted new regulations that would make directors liable for errors in firms’ accounts would send insurance costs even higher, according to executives.
It comes after business leaders slammed the government’s plan to impose fines and bans on directors for accounting inaccuracies, with industry leaders warning that such a move would undermine the Government’s ambitions to make the UK a global leader in technology.
After a couple of hours of trading, the FTSE 100 has extended its gains on some weakness in the pound, which comes ahead of Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey’s appearance in front of MPs on the Treasury Select Committee this afternoon.
09:54 AM
Money round-up
Here are some of the day’s top stories from the Telegraph Money team:
German industrial output failed to grow for the first time in eight months during December, with production stagnating at below pre-pandemic levels.
A 0pc changed in production fell short of economists’ predictions, for a 0.3pc gain.
Germany’s economic ministry said:
The outlook for the industrial sector continues to be subdued in light of the pandemic and the latest bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry. This is also suggested by weaker orders and damped sentiment among businesses.
The country’s manufacturing sector has appeared resilient in recent months, but is beginning to feel the impact on demand from tightened restrictions, both domestically and in many of its key export markets.
08:57 AM
MPs rally around British bid for Apple electric car manufacturing
MPs are rallying around the idea that Britain should make a bid to Apple to manufacture its coming electric cars in the UK.
My colleague Morgan Meaker reports:
Speaking to the Telegraph, James Sunderland, Conservative MP for Bracknell, said the idea was a “no-brainer”.
Conservatives Nick Fletcher and Marco Longhi, both from "blue wall" constituencies, also supported the plan.
UK-based Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor has accepted a €4.9bn takeover offer by Japan’s Renesas, in the latest buyout of a UK chipmaker by an foreign investor.
The group said the offer at €67.50 per share represented a 20.3pc premium to its closing price on Friday.
Dialog chief executive Dr Jalal Bagherli said:
he Dialog team is excited to join forces with Renesas. The combined company will be in an even stronger position to provide innovative products for these markets, building on Renesas’ extensive sales, distribution and customer support capabilities.
Dialog, based in Reading but listed in Germany, has reported a 25pc increase in its share price since the start of the year, Bloomberg reported, citing strong demand for Apple’s iPhone 12 line-up and a rumoured takeover.
The acquisition is expected to complete in the second half of 2021.
Last year, US group Nvidia agrred to by Cambridge-based chip-maker Arm from SoftBank, while Kings Langley-based chip designer Imagination Technologies was sold to a Chinese-backed investor in 2017.
08:09 AM
FTSE rises at open
The FTSE 100 has opened moderately higher as Europe pushes upwards.
Bloomberg TV - Bloomberg TV
08:07 AM
BP set to enter UK offshore wind with mega bids
Offshore wind farms - Ian Forsyth/Bloomberg
BP is poised to enter the UK offshore wind market, after becoming the preferred bidder for two major leases in the Irish Sea in the first bidding round in a decade.
The oil major, which plans to develop the sites alongside Germany’s EnBW, said it expects to make four annual payments of £231m for each of the leases until its projects reach a “final investment decision.
The two sites are “highly advantaged” according to BP, and have a potential total capacity of 3GW. Its projects at the sites are expected to be operation in seven years’ time.
Chief executive Bernard Looney said:
Success in this round marks BP’s entry into one of the world’s best offshore wind markets. This is both important progress towards BP’s transformation into an integrated energy company as well as a significant next step in our long history in the UK.
Other bidders include RWE, which is the preferred bidder for two adjacent sites in the central North Sea area known as Dogger Bank, with a potential capacity of 3GW, and France’s Total, which is set to secure a 1.5GW site off East Anglia in partnership with GIG.
All the sites must undergo further environmental assessments based on the bidders’ plans.
The sales mark a bonanza for the Crown Estate, with leases selling for far more than had been expected. The offshore areas that were offered for bidding belong to the Queen under a piece of legislation passed in 2004.
Dan Labbad, its chief executive, said:
With a net zero goal, some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, and clear commitment from Government and industry to continue investing in the low carbon economy, the UK stands ready to play its part in addressing the global climate crisis.
The sales should provide a massive income boost for the Crown Estate, which pays its profits to the Treasury (from which it receives a grant each year). As trade publication ReNews noted in a report last week, the sites were expected to attract bids in the low double figures – instead, billions of pounds will be brought in.
The vast sums involved have prompted calls for the revenues from Britain’s renewable resources to be kept by the public in a “green sovereign wealth fund” that could be used to invest in tackling the climate crisis.
“Rather than being squirrelled away in Treasury coffers, how much better would it be to use this renewable windfall as initial capital for a sovereign wealth fund that could then be invested for future generations, similar to what we’ve seen the likes of Alaska and Norway do in the past with their oil wealth,” said the Green party co-leader, Jonathan Bartley.
07:51 AM
Boohoo buys remnants of Arcadia for just £25m
Boohoo has snapped up the remnants of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed Arcadia empire, buying Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton for just £25m.
My colleague Simon Foy reports:
The online fashion giant said the deal would include all e-commerce and digital assets of the three brands, as well as their inventory. However, it does not include the brands' retail stores, concessions or franchises, putting thousands of jobs at risk as well as the brands' high street futures.
The acquisition will be funded through Boohoo's cash reserves and represents a changing of the high street guard as online disrupters assert their supremacy over beleaguered bricks-and-mortar rivals.
It comes after rival Asos bought the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands for £265m last week.
Good morning. The FTSE 100 is set to rise despite concerns around the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the South African variant of Covid-19.
A new study found that the jab does not protect against mild and moderate infection from the strain, with South Africa putting its roll out on hold.
5 things to start your day
1) Andrew Bailey faces grilling over LCF and his effort to avoid censure: The Bank of England Governor, faces an inquisition over his handling of the London Capital & Finance fiasco today – including “absolutely disgraceful” efforts to get his name removed from a highly critical report into the saga.
2) Oberon listing may lead to growth in managing wealth: A boutique wealth manager with £375m of client money is set for a stock market listing that its board of City veterans hopes will start a deal-fuelled growth spurt.
4) Travel curbs bad news for ‘Club Med’ economies: Tough travel restrictions to contain new Covid variants could cause permanent damage to the so-called Club Med economies as holidaymakers brace for another summer of staycations.
Asian shares hovered near record highs on Monday while oil edged closer to $60 a barrel on hopes a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 aid package will be passed by U.S. lawmakers as soon as this month just as coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out globally.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.3% at 717.2 after climbing as high as 730.16 late last month.
Japan's Nikkei jumped 2pc while Australian shares advanced 0.8pc led by technology and mining shares. Chinese shares were mildly positive with the blue-chip CSI300 index up 0.1pc.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 added 0.4pc in early Asian trading.
Hopes of a quicker economic revival and supply curbs by producer group OPEC and its allies pushed oil to its highest level in a year as it edged near $60 a barrel.
Gregg Doyel flashed a heart sign at Caitlin Clark at her introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon to kick off an incredibly strange back-and-forth.
Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman give their early season assessment of all thirty MLB teams at the three week mark, as well as discuss the long-awaited debut of Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter.
This week Boston Dynamics retired its well-known Atlas robot that was powered by hydraulics. Then today it unveiled its new Atlas robot, which is powered by electricity. The change might not seem like much, but TechCrunch's Brian Heater told the TechCrunch Minute that the now-deprecated hydraulics system was out of date.
Tesla management told employees Monday that the recent layoffs -- which gutted some departments by 20% and even hit high performers -- were largely due to poor financial performance, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The layoffs were announced to staff just a week before Tesla is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings. The move comes as Tesla has seen its profit margin narrow over the past several quarters, the result of an EV price war that has persisted for at least a year.
It's another edition of 'Mock Draft Monday' on the pod and who better to have on then the face of NFL Network's draft coverage and a giant in the industry. Daniel Jeremiah joins Matt Harmon to discuss his mock draft methodology, what he's hearing about this year's draft class and shares his favorite five picks in his latest mock draft.
Victor Wembanyama's rookie NBA season is finished. The San Antonio Spurs will sit him in Sunday's regular-season finale. Where does his first season rank among the league's greats?
