Daily market update: mining stocks, Wood Group, RWE

“Nine weeks into his second term, US president Donald Trump’s actions continue to rock markets, politics and economic forecasts,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

“It looks to be another week of uncertainty as investors await updates on tariffs, economic data that will lift a lid on purchasing managers’ confidence levels, and the latest on how UK chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to balance the books and get the country moving.

“An uncertain outlook for many countries is problematic from an economic perspective and it’s bad for investors who are struggling to know how they should position portfolios. Constant chopping and changing could result in financial markets feeling like they’ve got seasickness.

“2025 is fast becoming the year of the economic slowdown. There is a high chance that businesses pause investment until they know the lay of the land and consumers continue to be cautious with their spending. Fortunately, more information could be just around the corner.

“Trump says 2 April will be ‘Liberation Day’ for the US, whereby he will unveil reciprocal tariffs on countries deemed to be giving the US a bad deal on trade. Interestingly, markets haven’t braced themselves for the worst on this news. Instead, there is chatter that Liberation Day might not be so punishing as previously thought.

“That explains why markets were bullish at the start of the new week, although it’s impossible to say if this positivity will last. European markets put their front foot forward while Asian markets also enjoyed a bounce apart from Japan.

“Mining stocks were the key driver for the FTSE 100 as Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore topped the leader board thanks to stronger copper prices. The base metal has been on a strong run of late as markets worry about the impact of tariffs, with copper traders racing to snap up supplies in case Trump imposes new levies akin to what’s already happened with aluminium and steel.”

Wood Group

“Investors continue to keep their fingers crossed that Wood Group will be acquired for a premium.

“The bearer of much bad news in recent months, Wood Group’s share price has been like a slinky slowly dropping down the stairs.

“That hasn’t stopped certain opportunistic investors from betting on the company being taken private at a higher price than its shares currently trade.

“News that Sidara has been given more time to conduct due diligence gave the stock a bump, but there is no guarantee a firm deal can be reached.”

RWE

“Not content with pushing for change at BP, activist investor Elliott has added Germany utility RWE to its hit list.

“RWE is already proceeding with actions that might typically be at the top of an activist’s wish list, namely cutting capital expenditure on green technologies. Therefore, Elliott has moved to the next obvious way to breath more life into the share price — calling for faster and greater share buybacks.

“The activist’s latest trades are united by one thing — backing a reversal in the energy transition. Elliott has put pressure on BP to focus more on oil and gas. It supports RWE’s strategic shift and clearly sees buybacks as an easy way to drive an even bigger re-rating in the share price than the one we’ve seen in recent week, and it has also taken a bet against French oil producer group TotalEnergies.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.