US tech stocks endured their worst day since March 2020 overnight – led screeching lower by Facebook-owner Meta Platforms which saw its stock market value collapse by a record amount for a US firm,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Now was not the time to be releasing disappointing quarterly figures and the drop in Facebook users clearly spooked investors. All in all the company has endured a pretty horrible start to life under its new, much-derided name.
“The iffy numbers represent something of an outlier among its mega-cap tech counterparts with Amazon the latest of these rivals to beat forecasts with its own quarterly numbers after the Wall Street closed on Thursday. A hike in the cost of a US Prime account also demonstrated its pricing power,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.
“And if the markets were hoping for some respite they’re likely to be disappointed with the key US jobs data being released later this afternoon.
“The FTSE 100 made a good start on Friday amid all the drama. Resources firms and Shell led the market higher on strong energy prices, with European oil sites being hit by cyber-attacks only adding to the pressures on crude supply.
“Travel food hub operator SSP may have reported a big hit from Omicron but investors were largely content to look forward to sunnier horizons with a target of returning to pre-pandemic levels of profitability and sales growth by 2024.
“It helps that the business is no longer haemorrhaging cash, creating greater confidence that it can ride out any further disruption.
“London West End property investor Shaftesbury had some swing and swagger to befit a saunter down Carnaby Street as it reported a vacancy rate below 5% with the company outlining prospects for some uninterrupted trading growth.
“Shareholders will hope this can be su
Leave a Comment