GDP fell by 20.4% compared to the previous month, a sharper contraction than the 18.4% expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
This represented a 24.5% decline from April 2019, as lockdowns necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic hammered economic activity.
Sterling was fairly steady after the data release, trading at $1.2575 on Friday morning London time.
The Nasdaq Composite rallied to a record high on Tuesday, briefly breaking above 10,000 for the first time, as traders loaded up on major technology names while taking profits from stocks that benefit from the economy reopening.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Amazon and Apple gained 3.7% and 3%, respectively, with each notching all-time highs during the session. Facebook traded 2.9% higher and Netflix rose 3.1%. Google-parent Alphabet was up 0.6%.
Read MoreAutonomy founder Mike Lynch told the CogX conference that researchers still don’t know how to build AI systems that can do more than one task well.
AI has become a buzzword in recent years but the technology still has a long way to go.
Lynch sold Autonomy to HP in 2011 for almost $11 billion but HP has since accused him of deliberately inflating the value of the company before he sold it.
The one turbine, 2.5 megawatt facility will be based in Wales and is set to come online next year.
The idea of communities and consumers getting involved in renewable energy projects is well established.
A new report looking at sovereign wealth funds’ investment activity in 2019, carried out by the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), showed that the number of publicly disclosed direct investments made by such funds has stagnated since 2017.
The amount of equity invested has dropped by over a third from $54.3 billion in 2017 to $35 billion in 2019.
The ISFSWF is a network of sovereign wealth funds from almost 40 countries.
The central bank increased its crisis bond-buying program by 600 billion euros ($672 billion).
It also extended the scheme’s duration until June 2021, or until the bank believes the crisis is over.
Interest rates were maintained at their current levels, as expected.
However, the ECB updated its economic projections which came in significantly worse than in March.
Shares in Asia Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade.
The European Central Bank on Thursday announced an increase in its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme by by 600 billion euros.
The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday said 1.877 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, higher than a Dow Jones estimate of 1.775 million.
Bond strategists say the bond market is signaling that investors believe the worst period for the economy was April.
ADP’s private payroll report showed job losses about 6 million fewer than expected, and that helped stoke a rally in stocks and a sell off in bonds.
Bond yields, which move opposite price, broke out of a range and are now poised to go higher, but not that much higher given the weak economy and expected 20% unemployment.
Shares in Asia were higher in Wednesday morning trade, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping about 2%.
Developments surrounding the reopening of economies likely continued to be monitored by investors on Wednesday.
On the economic data front, Australia’s first quarter GDP print is expected to be out at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday.
Stocks continue to rally, even as many American cities remain under curfews and are bracing for continued protests.
Analysts said the protests may be alarming, but they are not impacting the stock market, which remains fixated on the economy’s reopening.
A big factor keeping the markets going is the trillions in stimulus from the Fed, other central banks and governments around the world.
The European Union’s top executive and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet this month for talks that could give new momentum to the stalled post-Brexit negotiations.
Daniel Ferrie, the commission spokesperson for EU-U.K. negotiations, said the date and format of the encounter have yet to be determined.
The U.K. left the political institutions of the EU on Jan. 31, but remains inside the EU’s tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of the year.
Some types of bamboo have been used to produce scaffolding, bridges and even buildings.
One example of bamboo being used to build structures is a place called Green Village in Bali, Indonesia.
China’s desire to display its sovereign might could be part of why it has approved a draft national security law for Hong Kong, said Christopher Johnson, Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s parliament, on Thursday approved the proposal to impose a new national security law for Hong Kong — paving the way for the legislation to be finalized and implemented in the city.
The proposed bill is highly contentious as it bypasses Hong Kong’s legislature and could undermine the city’s semi-autonomous status.
Stocks rose in volatile trading Wednesday as Wall Street applauded the partial reopening of the U.S. economy. The action was mixed as bank stocks climbed, but tech-focused stay-at-home plays fell.
Market analysts and economists are largely at odds when it comes to pinpointing a timeline for recovery.
Read MoreU.S. billionaires saw their fortunes soar by $434 billion during the nation’s lockdown between mid-March and mid-May, according to a new report.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had the biggest gains.
Bezos added $34.6 billion to his wealth and Zuckerberg picked up $25 billion.
The coronavirus is “a wake-up call for pretty much every company,“ said Gerry Mattios, expert vice president at Bain. “The number one item on the agenda is, ‘how do I build resilience in my supply chain?’”
“China is still a very attractive total supply chain solution,” said How Jit Lim, a managing director with consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. “There are very few countries in the world where you can find almost everything you need to build something.”
Exports are still important for China’s economy, which contracted by 6.8% in the first quarter amid the height of the coronavirus outbreak within the country.
Apple made it easier to unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask.
Now when users swipe up, they immediately see an opportunity to input their password or passcode.
The change is part of iOS 13.5, which was released on Wednesday.
RWE carried out a significant asset swap with E.ON last year.
Going forward, the firm is looking to focus on renewable electricity generation.
Budget airline EasyJet has been targeted by “highly sophisticated” hackers.
The hackers were able to access the travel details of 9 million EasyJet customers.
EasyJet said it has secured its systems.
In an announcement on Sunday, the government said the U.K. would be the first country to be given access to a vaccine being developed at Oxford University, should it prove successful in clinical trials.
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