- Asian stocks climb after mixed tech results
Asian stocks eked out gains following mixed results from Wall Street tech companies and as traders prepare for next week’s US election and Federal Reserve rate decision. Shares gained in Japan, but slipped in Australia and South Korea. US contracts advanced in Asia after the S&P 500 closed up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose to a record. In late US trading, Alphabet Inc. climbed more than 5% as the Google parent’s earnings beat estimates, while Advanced Micro Devices Inc. sank 7% amid a lackluster revenue forecast. - Nasdaq jumps to record close as major tech names rise ahead of earnings
The Nasdaq Composite rose to a fresh record on Tuesday as investors readied for key corporate earnings releases, including reports from notable tech names. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.78% to a record close of 18,712.75. The S&P 500 added 0.16% to end at 5,832.92. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, falling 154.52 points, or 0.36%, to close at 42,233.05. - Gold touches record peak on U.S. election jitters, Mid-East woes
Gold prices hit a record high on Tuesday, as uncertainties surrounding the U.S. presidential election and the Middle East conflict, along with expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, boosted bullion’s appeal. Spot gold was up 1% at $2,769.25 per ounce as of 10:17 a.m ET (1417 GMT), after hitting a record high of $2,772.42 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% higher at $2,781.1. - Oil prices steady on shrinking U.S. crude inventories
Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday on industry data showing a surprise drop in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories, following two previous sessions of losses on the prospect of hostilities easing in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures gained 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.33 a barrel by 0002 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $67.43 per barrel. - Alphabet shares rise on earnings beats boosted by cloud revenue
Alphabet reported stronger-than-expected earnings results. The company reported blowout cloud revenue at $11.35 billion, up nearly 35% from the $8.41 billion a year ago. Alphabet’s chief financial officer says the company plans to build on existing cost-cutting efforts around using AI to streamline workflow and manage headcount and the company’s physical footprint. - Harris holds rally at Ellipse warning of Trump’s threat to democracy
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday delivered the closing argument of her campaign against Donald Trump, arguing that as president she would focus on delivering for everyday Americans while he would fixate on exacting revenge, speaking before a large crowd at the same site where Trump rallied his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. - BlackRock Talks to Buy Private-Credit Firm HPS Advance
BLACKROCK is in advanced talks to buy HPS Investment Partners, emerging as the only suitor in active talks with the firm as the world’s largest asset manager seeks to compete in the fast-growing private credit industry. The two sides are seeking to reach an agreement by the end of this year, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions, who sought anonymity to discuss confidential matters. HPS could still opt for an initial public offering (IPO) or minority stake sale if the parties fail to agree on valuation, some of the sources said. - Ex-Goldman Banker Turned PE Billionaire Takes on Korea’s Chaebol
In his 2020 bestseller, billionaire dealmaker Michael ByungJu Kim’s leading character is a young banker who finds himself tangled in the dealings of South Korea’s wealthiest families. Now, fact appears to be following fiction. Last month, Kim’s eponymous private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd stepped into one of the most fraught corporate battles in recent Korean history, a tussle pitting the founding families behind heavyweight Korea Zinc Co. against each other. The two sides are vying for control of the world’s largest producer of the refined metal, a key player in global efforts to loosen China’s grip on the supply of materials vital to the energy transition. - Australian CPI rose 0.2% in the September 2024 quarter
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent in the September 2024 quarter and 2.8 per cent annually, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said: “The September quarter’s rise of 0.2 per cent is the lowest outcome since the June 2020 quarter fall which occurred during the COVID-19 outbreak and was driven by free childcare. “Annually, the September quarter’s rise of 2.8 per cent was down from 3.8 per cent in the June quarter. This is the lowest annual inflation rate since the March 2021 quarter.” - AMD Tumbles After AI Chip Growth Fails to Inspire Investors
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. slid in late trading after the chipmaker’s revenue forecast missed analysts’ estimates, a sign its artificial intelligence sales are growing more slowly than some had anticipated. Revenue will be roughly $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said Tuesday. Analysts estimated $7.55 billion on average. Though the company now expects to get more than $5 billion in sales from so-called AI accelerators this year up from a previous forecast of $4.5 billion some analysts and investors had been looking for a bigger bump. - Swiss bank UBS smashes third-quarter expectations with $1.4 billion in profit
Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at $1.43 billion, compared with a mean forecast of $667.5 million in a LSEG poll of analysts’ turned course back toward profit in the first quarter of 2024 after two quarterly losses tied to the takeover of stricken Credit Suisse. - Reddit shares soar 22% on earnings beat and better-than-expected forecast
Reddit reported third-quarter financial results that topped analyst estimates. The company’s forecast for the fourth quarter was also better than expected. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told CNBC in August that the company has been making it easier for new users to create accounts. - China ‘does not agree or accept’ the EU’s EV tariffs, says negotiations are still ongoing
The extra tariffs will range from 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for SAIC Motor, and stack on top of the 10% standard import duty for cars to the EU. China has already filed a lawsuit under the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism. - HSBC Holdings Plc announced a fresh multibillion-dollar stock buyback as it reported better-than-estimated earnings.
Europe’s largest bank said Tuesday that it would repurchase up to $3 billion of shares on the back of a 9.9% gain in pretax profit from a year earlier to $8.48 billion. The results were driven by gains in divisions including its wealth arm, which benefited from higher private banking volumes in Asia. “There was strong revenue growth and good performances in wealth and wholesale transaction banking,” Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery said. The bank gained 243,000 customers in Hong Kong in the quarter, while overall fee income in wealth rose 32%. HSBC has targeted becoming the premier wealth bank in Asia, as it has divested other business across the world. - BP Plc raised the possibility that its share buybacks could slow next year from the $1.75 billion quarterly pace seen in 2024, as weaker oil prices push its debt higher. Shares fell 5%.
The oil major’s net debt increased in the third quarter by $1.7 billion to $24.27 billion, the highest since the start of 2022. While that helped the company maintain its buyback for now, BP suggested the level could change in February, when it will review its strategy and financial guidance. “Buybacks are variable,” BP Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss said. “They go up and down based on performance and the price environment. Performance is great. Price environment we don’t control.” The company reported adjusted net income of $2.27 billion in the third quarter, ahead of the average analyst estimate. BP and its peers are under pressure to keep rewarding their investors even as their profits normalize following a period of unusually high oil and gas prices in recent years. - Adidas AG reported strong third-quarter growth across most regions in a sign a revival plan led by Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Gulden is starting to work.
The sportswear group said Tuesday that currency-neutral revenue grew by double digits in most places, except North America, where dwindling sales of Yeezy sneakers are still weighing on the region. Group operating profit also jumped to €598 million, from €409 million in the same period last year. Earlier this month, Adidas raised its annual profit target for the third time, amid surging demand for its retro kicks. The company said it now expects to generate operating profit of around €1.2 billion, up from the previous forecast of around €1 billion. Shares of Adidas rose 3.8%. - D.R. Horton Inc. shares fell 7.2% after the homebuilder reported disappointing results for its fiscal fourth quarter and signaled that affordability challenges are holding back buyers.
The company has been using incentives such as mortgage rate buy-downs to lure customers and put purchases within closer reach an effort that will continue, executives said. Still, orders for the three months through September fell short of what analysts were expecting, and the builder’s forecast for home deliveries for fiscal 2025 also disappointed. In the three months through September, buyers signed contracts for 19,035 homes, up 5% from a year earlier, D.R. Horton reported. Analysts estimated 19,994. The company said it expects to close 90,000 to 92,000 home sales in fiscal 2025, which also was lower than the consensus of analysts. - Visa Inc., the world’s biggest payments network, posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations as cross-border transactions increased.
Adjusted net income rose 13% to $5.4 billion, or $2.71 a share, the company said. That topped the $2.58 average estimate of analysts. Net revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 12% from a year earlier to $9.6 billion. Cross-border volumes climbed 13%. The results were “driven by relatively stable growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions, plus strong momentum across new flows and value-added services,” Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said. “We see tremendous opportunity ahead to grow our business.” - Volkswagen profit plunges 42% in third quarter amid sweeping overhaul plans
German automaker Volkswagen on Wednesday reported a 42% drop in operating profit in the third quarter.
Operating profit fell to 2.86 billion euros ($3.1 billion), while third quarter sales revenues slipped 0.5% year on year to around 78.5 billion euros.The third quarter results come after Volkswagen last month cut its 2024 annual outlook for the second time in just a few months. At the time, the car maker said it was expecting a profit margin of around 5.6% for the year, along with a 0.7% drop in sales.
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