An hour ago, the FTSE 100 opened higher in London, up by 0.2%. Most European markets were closed for the May Day public holiday. The Stoxx 600 index closed lower on Tuesday, marking its first monthly decline since October.
Microsoft announced the opening of its first regional data center in Thailand, along with plans to build new cloud and AI infrastructure in the country. Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co reported a 6.4% decline in profit for the 2023 financial year but saw its shares climb after announcing a $1.26 billion buyback.
South Korea’s exports posted a sharp increase in April, beating expectations, while imports also saw growth. In the US, utilities were the only S&P 500 sector to see gains in April, with NextEra Energy leading the way.
Bank of America revised its forecast for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, now predicting rate cuts to begin in December and a higher terminal rate. Starbucks, Pinterest, and Super Micro Computer were among the companies making big moves in after-hours trading.
Vocabulary List:
- FTSE 100 (noun): An index of the top 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- Stoxx 600 (noun): A stock index representing 600 European companies.
- Infrastructure (noun): The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.
- Decline (noun/verb): A decrease or reduction to become smallerfeweror less.
- Buyback (noun): The repurchase of outstanding shares by a company to reduce the number of shares on the marketleading to an increase in the value per share.
- Forecast (noun/verb): A prediction or estimate of future eventsespecially weather conditions.
