Source: Sharecast
Stocks to watch
Japan’s Dai-ichi Life is to take a stake in investment manager M&G after the two firms agreed a long-term strategic partnership. Under the terms of the deal, the blue chip will become Dai-chi’s preferred asset management partner in Europe, while the mutual insurer will acquire a shareholding of around 15% in M&G. The partnership is expected to generate at least $6bn in new business flows into funds managed by M&G over the next five years, the British firm said.
Business park owner Sirius Real Estate said it had agreed €43m of deals in Germany. The company said it had agreed to purchase a multi-let business park for €12.67m and also the sale of a business park for €30m.
Newspaper round-up
The UK is on the brink of signing a £1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment. The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – which includes the countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – is within touching distance, making it a fourth trading agreement by Keir Starmer after pacts were struck with the US, India and the EU. – Guardian
Andrew Bailey has urged the UK government to deepen ties with the EU, as he warned a breakdown in global trade would make it harder for the Bank of England to control inflation. In a speech in Dublin on Thursday, the Bank’s governor said a stronger relationship between London and Brussels could “minimise negative effects” of Brexit on trade. – Guardian
An 11th-hour attempt to gatecrash the sale of The Telegraph with a “British bid” has been rejected. The latest approach from Dovid Efune, which includes funding from the hedge fund manager Jeremy Hosking, has been ruled out, according to multiple sources. – Telegraph
Government pension reforms could put “millions of people’s pensions at risk”, increase the prospect of scheme “collapses” and lower returns, experts have warned. Pensions specialists, campaigners and businesses issued the warning after the government said it would push ahead with plans to change the law to make it easier for employers to dip into pension schemes. – The Times
Michael O’Leary, the longstanding boss of Ryanair, has qualified for share options worth more than €100 million after stock in the Dublin-based airline hit a six-year-old price target. Shares in Europe’s largest low-cost carrier closed above €21 for a 28th consecutive day, meeting a condition of a share-option scheme originally set in 2019 on the eve of the pandemic. – The Times
US close
Major indices traded higher on Thursday as market participants digested news that while a federal court struck down Donald Trump's so-called "reciprocal" tariffs, an appeals court later allowed them to be temporarily reinstated as it heard the White House's argument.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28% at 42,215.73, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.40% to 5,912.17 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.39% firmer at 19,175.87.
The Dow closed 117.03 points higher on Thursday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session as minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest two-day policy meeting revealed that policymakers were growing more concerned about the potentially inflationary impact of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
On Wednesday night, the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority when imposing his "reciprocal” tariffs and ordered that the challenged tariff orders be vacated.
In a major blow to the president's core economic policy, the court ruled that Congress alone had exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries, and that presidential powers to safeguard the economy did not overrule that.