FTSE 100 continues record run, Darktrace rallies on buyout deal By Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar (Reuters) -Britain’s FTSE 100 rose to another record high on Friday as strong earnings from U.S. tech giants buoyed investor sentiment, while cybersecurity firm Darktrace rallied following a buyout deal by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, hitting a record for a fourth consecutive session. The index is set for its biggest weekly gain in more than seven months. “The combination of recovering earnings and reasonable prices continue to make things look quite attr ..read more

Global stocks gain on Big Tech lift; yen swings to fresh 34-yr low By Chris Prentice and Naomi Rovnick NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stocks were higher on Friday as Big Tech gains lifted Wall Street shares, while Japan’s yen hit a fresh 34-year low after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) opted to keep monetary policy loose at its latest meeting. MSCI’s broad index of global stocks reversed earlier losses, rose 0.94% by 10:43 a.m. ET (1443 GMT) after U.S. shares opened to tech sector optimism following robust results from Alphabet and Microsoft. U.S. data also boosted sentiment, with the consumption ..read more

Global equity funds face fourth week of outflows amid dampened Fed rate cut hopes (Reuters) – Global equity funds recorded outflows for the fourth consecutive week as of April 24, affected by diminishing hopes of rapid Federal Reserve rate cuts this year amid a series of higher-than-expected U.S. inflation readings. Investors pulled out $2.7 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, which was much less than the outflow of $23 billion in the previous week. U.S. equity funds experienced outflows of $1.2 billion, while European equity funds saw $6.3 billion leave during the week. Conv ..read more

Global economy set to stay on a roll for the rest of the year – Reuters poll By Hari Kishan BENGALURU (Reuters) – The global economy is likely to carry its solid momentum for the rest of the year and into 2025, defying earlier expectations of a slowdown, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said stronger growth than forecast was more likely than weakness. That shift in the growth outlook brings its own set of challenges for central banks, which raised rates in quick succession to try and drive inflation down to target but now may have to wait even longer before considering rate reduct ..read more

Sterling steadies against dollar, jumps to 16-year high vs yen By Joice Alves LONDON (Reuters) – Sterling steadied on Friday after rising to a two-week high against the dollar as markets awaited for key U.S. inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next moves. Against the closely watched declining yen, sterling rose to its highest level in almost 16 years. It was flat at $1.2510 after rising earlier in the day to its highest against the dollar since April 12, adding to Thursday’s rally after U.S. data showed economic growth unexpected slowed, while inflation accelerated, which reinfor ..read more

TotalEnergies earnings fall in first quarter on lower gas prices By America Hernandez PARIS (Reuters) -French energy giant TotalEnergies posted a 22% decline in first-quarter earnings due to a steep decline in profits from natural gas, while warning that rising crude oil prices could weigh on refining margins in coming months. Adjusted net income for the three months to end-March came to $5.1 billion, the company said on Friday, slightly above the $5 billion in a consensus estimate of analysts forecasts compiled by LSEG. Profits at oil and gas firms are still retreating from record levels in 2 ..read more

Safran posts higher Q1 revenue, keeps financial targets PARIS (Reuters) -French jet engine maker Safran posted an 18.1% jump in first-quarter revenue and reaffirmed financial targets for the year while joining U.S. partner GE Aerospace in lowering a target for engine deliveries. The Paris-based company posted quarterly revenues of 6.22 billion euros ($6.67 billion), up 19.1% on an underlying basis. The widely-watched civil aftermarket business grew 27.3% in dollar terms. But deliveries of the LEAP jet engine were flat after a slow start to the year in plane production, notably at Boeing. Safra ..read more

Denso to sell off cross-shareholdings and use proceeds on M&A TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor supplier Denso plans to eventually sell all of its cross-shareholdings, its president said on Friday, as the company looks to fund acquisitions and other investments. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Investors have long pressured Japanese companies to sell-off cross-shareholdings and put their capital to better use. Firms have been gradually selling down their stakes, thanks in part to a governance push by the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the government. Toyota and some other of its group companies last year sold ar ..read more

Airport operator ADP Q1 revenue boosted by post-pandemic travel boom By Diana Mandia (Reuters) -French airport group ADP reported on Friday a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter revenue, benefiting from the post-pandemic holiday boom and as travellers splashed more cash on food and drink at its airports. “All segments of activities are growing, especially the contribution of international activities, driven by the strong traffic momentum at (Turkish airport operator) TAV Airports,” Chief Executive Officer Augustin de Romanet said in a statement. The group, which runs the French capital ..read more

NatWest first-quarter profit slumps 27% as savings, mortgage competition bite By Lawrence White LONDON (Reuters) -NatWest’s first-quarter profit fell by a less than expected 27%, it said on Friday, hit by competition for savings, lending and mortgage products which has squeezed margins across the sector. The British bank said pretax operating profit for the January-March period was 1.3 billion pounds ($1.63 billion), down from 1.8 billion pounds a year earlier and just above the average of analyst forecasts of 1.2 billion pounds. NatWest said income was 406 million pounds lower than the same J ..read more