Morgan Stanley has lifted its price targets for major Chinese equity indexes, citing stronger earnings, yuan resilience and China's entrenched role in global supply chains, CNBC reported on Thursday. In its latest strategy note, the US investment bank said stronger corporate earnings, a firmer yuan and China's entrenched role in global supply chains should support moderate gains across major indexes over the next year.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to quit on Tuesday, but pressure remains. JP Morgan announced late last year that it would build a new three-million square foot tower in London's Canary Wharf.
Morgan Stanley has downgraded Trustpilot Group PLC (LSE:TRST), the London-listed consumer review platform, from 'overweight' to 'equal-weight', arguing that a 60% share price rally this year has left the risk-reward more balanced. The American bank raised its price target modestly to 275 pence from 265 pence, implying roughly 6% upside from the current level of 261 pence.
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund NYSE: MSDL reported lower first-quarter net investment income as recent Federal Reserve rate cuts flowed through its floating-rate portfolio, but management said credit performance remained stable and lender economics are beginning to improve.
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A), the FTSE 100 telecoms company, rose almost 3% to 227.5p after JP Morgan argued the stock is entering the next leg of a re-rating that has already seen it double from its 2024 lows, reiterating its 'overweight' rating on the shares. Analyst Akhil Dattani at JP Morgan said the coming months should ease the key concerns that have kept many investors on the sidelines, centring on competition from alternative network providers, known as altnets, the credibility of management's cash flow targets, and a sizeable pension deficit.
Neils Christensen has a diploma in journalism from Lethbridge College and has more than a decade of reporting experience working for news organizations throughout Canada. His experiences include covering territorial and federal politics in Nunavut, Canada.
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID | LCID Price Prediction) saw its Morgan Stanley price target cut in half to $5 from $10 on May 6, with the firm keeping its Underweight rating.
Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) shares are in focus ahead of a closely watched investor day on 19 May, with JP Morgan raising its price target on the emerging markets-focused bank and flagging expectations of ambitious new profitability targets to 2028. Analyst Kian Abouhossein, who carries an overweight rating on the stock, lifted his price target to 2,220p from 2,200p after increasing earnings per share estimates by 2-3%, driven by stronger revenues and lower costs in his model.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on IonQ (NYSE:IONQ | IONQ Price Prediction) to $47 from $37, while keeping an Equal Weight rating.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT | CAT Price Prediction) to $915 from $430, while upgrading the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight.
The software sell-off of early 2026 did not happen because earnings suddenly fell apart. It happened because investors started to wonder whether AI could make big chunks of traditional SaaS less valuable, or even obsolete.
KMI tops ET, its midstream rival with stronger price gains, improving earnings outlook and lower debt use.