00:00 Speaker A
Okay. The first thing you need to know before that opening bell rings is that after a tumultuous week on Wall Street, US Futures, well, they’re heading higher. As you can see, it’s green across the board. On Monday, stocks rebounded sharply after taking on Friday, in the aftermath, tanking on Friday in the aftermath of a number of market shaking events, including a weak jobs report, fresh tariffs, new signs of rising prices and the firing of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That tariff threat hasn’t gone away. Yesterday, President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on India. He’s angry about the Southeast Asian countries purchases of Russian oil. Last month, Washington announced that India would be hit with a 25% levy on its exports to the US. For its part, New Delhi has hit back at the President’s threat. It said it would take all necessary steps to protect its economic interests.
02:07 Speaker A
The next thing to know about before that opening bell rings is that oil major BP has reported better than expected second quarter results. BP reported adjusted profits of $2.4 billion for the period, a third higher than analysts expected. And it’s raised its quarterly dividend by 4%. The company maintained a $750 million quarterly share buyback too. However, BP said that it will review its portfolio of assets and consider more cost cuts as part of a drive to do better for shareholders under pressure to improve profitability. Not least from activist investor, US hedge fund Elliott Management. CEO, Murray Auchinloss, earlier this year announced plans to sell $20 billion of assets through to 2027, as well as to cut spending, debt and costs. Today, he signalled further action, but without giving details. The quarterly performance benefited from a 33% increase in profits at BP’s customers and products business, driven by strong oil trading results, higher volumes, and a 20% rise in earnings at its Castrol lubricants unit, which the company plans to sell. BP shares listed in London rose in response. Its shares listed in New York are also set to rise when the opening bell rings too. Now remember that BP shares have underperformed its rivals since its 2020 shift towards renewables under former CEO, Bernard Looney. That’s a policy that’s firmly in reverse.
04:31 Speaker A
And the final thing to know about before the opening bell rings is again focused on earnings. Palantir reported a 48% increase in revenue for the second quarter to more than $1 billion, citing the astonishing impact of artificial intelligence technology on its business. And as you can see, that’s having quite the impact on its share price in the premarket. It’s up over 5%, as you can see there. It’s on track to hit an all time high when the New York markets open.