In another packed stock market podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson talk about the divergence between a bleak and uncertain economic outlook and some of the positive results we’ve seen this week from the likes of AstraZeneca, Barclays, Lloyds, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta and whether we are being too negative on where things are economically. They also look ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve and Bank of England meetings and when to expect the next rate cut.

00:00 - Market Overview and April Recap

05:51 - Central Bank Policies and Economic Outlook

08:45 - Alphabet (Google) - Strong earnings, ad revenue steady

08:55 - AstraZeneca - Profits up, market unimpressed

09:20 - HSBC - Mixed results, Asia concerns

13:58 - Barclays - Strong profits, resilient business

17:55 - Lloyds Banking Group - Decent results, share dip

23:03 - HSBC (again) - UK profits weak, Asia key

23:43 - BP - Big miss, weak leadership

29:05 - Associated British Foods - Weak sugar unit, mixed retail

32:58 - Rolls-Royce - Solid update, nuclear hopes

34:43 - Alphabet (again) - Strong growth, Waymo losses

37:43 - Microsoft - Cloud strength, optimistic outlook

39:45 - Meta Platforms - Big earnings, high CapEx

42:14 - Travis Perkins - Weak core, Toolstation strong

45:39 - Deliveroo - DoorDash bid, undervalued UK

48:24 - US GDP and Federal Reserve Outlook

49:58 - Bank of England's Potential Rate Cuts

50:57 - Next - Guidance watch, near record highs

51:49 - International Airlines Group - US travel concerns linger

53:01 - JD Wetherspoon - Strong trading, inflation headwinds

54:26 - Uber - Works well in US

54:48 - Disney - Weak stock, peak season test