Market snapshot: on course for rewarding returns

With global stock markets on track to generate another year of double-digit returns, ii's head of markets talks through latest developments moving share prices here and overseas.

3rd November 2025 08:51

by Richard Hunter from interactive investor

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US markets dodged the traditional October bullets to finish up on the day, week and month as investors continued to buy in to a rally largely led by mega cap technology stocks.

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Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the latest contributor to the optimism, rising by 9.6% after posting strong earnings which included a spike of 20% in cloud computing revenues for the third quarter. The group also swerved the caution which had previously weighed on the likes of Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) in revealing its intention for another round of bumper tech investment next year.

The news read across to both Palantir Technologies Inc Ordinary Shares - Class A (NASDAQ:PLTR) and Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL), while Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) also found themselves at the centre of some renewed buying interest.

In the continuing absence of economic news given the government shutdown, companies remain in full focus for investors for the state of play on the ground, and this week there is a diverse set of earnings due from the likes of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER), Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) and McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD).

The shutdown also prevents the release this week of arguably the world’s most keenly followed report in the form of the non-farm payrolls. With limited visibility, the Federal Reserve have turned more circumspect after last week’s interest rate cut, refusing to confirm that there is one more reduction in the pipeline this year. Markets are still pricing in a 70% likelihood of a December cut, down from a previous 90%, but comments from a Fed member suggested that inflation remains a little high for comfort, let alone the lack of clarity on the labour market at present.

Moving into the penultimate month of the year, the main indices remain on course for a rewarding annual return at the moment, with year to date gains of 11.8%, 16.3% and 22.9% for the Dow Jones, S&P500 and Nasdaq respectively.

With the Japanese market closed for a holiday, attention in Asia turned to China, where factory activity grew at a slower pace in October, although still in expansionary territory. Nonetheless, an official PMI reading showed a slight contraction, with tariff anxiety clearly at play in the background in keeping a lid on both new orders and general output.

In the UK, the premier index nudged higher, with a slightly firmer oil price lifting the majors, BP (LSE:BP.) and Shell (LSE:SHEL). Prudential (LSE:PRU) was in demand as the strength of its business update last week continued to tempt investors into the longer-term Asian wealth story. Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD) dipped after a broker downgrade ahead of its half-year numbers next week, but progress for the index overall leaves the FTSE100 up by 19% so far this year and still bumping against the ceiling of record high territory.

The week is also one of many moving parts domestically, including the latest interest rate decision on Thursday. The jury remains out as to whether the Bank of England will take the plunge and reduce interest rates, with the economy increasingly in need of a shot in the arm.

However, sticky inflation and unknown Budget implications may force the Monetary Policy Committee to continue to sit on their hands. Meanwhile, a brisk company calendar will bring updates from a raft of corporates, including BP (LSE:BP.), Marks & Spencer Group (LSE:MKS), Associated British Foods (LSE:ABF), Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY), Diageo (LSE:DGE), International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) and BT Group (LSE:BT.A).

These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

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