Squawk Box Europe Express

The S&P 500 posts its ninth record session this year, briefly breaching the 5,000-point milestone. Similarly in Asia, the Nikkei hits 37k for the first time in 34 years before pulling back while Hong Kong equities are in the red at the start of the Lunar New Year. Disappointing sales for L’Oréal as northern Asian markets slump, with the French cosmetics posting a miss on sales and profits. In the U.S., President Biden dodges a Special Counsel report about his handling of classified documents and berates reporters for questioning his mental acuity.

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German engineering giant Siemens posts a 56 per cent rise in Q net income and boasts an order book of more than €22bn. CEO Roland Busch says the China market remains a concern. Shares in chip maker ARM are up 40 per cent in after-hours trade after the firm hiked guidance on strong A.I. demand. ARM’s major shareholder Softbank also posts a $16bn gain in earnings. Disney hikes its forecast and announces its foray into gaming, investing $1.2bn in Fortnite maker Epic Games. In China, producer prices fall for a sixteenth consecutive month while consumer prices have their steepest fall since 2009. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 records another record high – just five points shy of the 5,000-mark.   

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Moody’s cuts its rating on New York Community Bankcorp to junk status, causing its shares to nose-dive to their lowest level since 1997. However, the U.S. regional lender remains adamant, saying ‘ample’ liquidity of more than $37bn. Snap shares fall by more than 30 per cent in extended trade after missing earnings expectations in the fourth quarter. The company says that the Middle East turmoil is creating headwinds. Siemens Energy confirms its outlook after posting a 24 per cent jump in orders. It said it would remain focused on rectifying problems with its offshore wind business, Gamesa. In Italy, a controversial capital markets reform bill is sent to the Senate after the Chamber of Deputies approves measures to attract more listings in the country. And in aviation news, Boeing admits it must perform better after an initial NTSB report said four key bolts were missing from the plug door of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max which blew out mid-air.

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UBS posts a better-than-expected Q4 net loss of $279m. U.S. markets are in the red as the 2-years Treasury yield reaches a one-month high as strong services numbers pushes back expectations of an early Fed rate cut. In China, authorities move to mitigate a slump in the stock market helping both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen indices up. In pharma news, Novartis buys up cancer treatment firm MorphoSys while Novo Nordisk snaps up a key manufacturing sub-contractor for its obesity drug WeGovy. BoE chief economist Huw Pill says it is a matter of when, not if, the central bank moves to cut rates after retail sales slow in January.  

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Money markets temper expectations for a March cut after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns of moving too fast too soon - saying he wants to see more data to confirm that inflation is headed down to 2%. U.S. yields jump following a stellar payrolls report, as hiring hits 353,000 in January - nearly twice the forecast. The wild ride in Chinese stocks stretches into a new week, with the Shanghai Composite hitting a fresh 52-week low despite efforts from regulators to calm the situation. And The U.S. launches more strikes against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East in retaliation for an attack on a base in Jordan, as White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warns this is just the beginning.

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Apple beats on the top and bottom line in Q1 but weakness in China weighs and executives warn of falling iPhone sales. Meta sees its market cap balloon by $140bn after shares soared in after-hours trading following strong quarterly results. The tech giant also unveiled its inaugural dividend payout. Amazon posts record Q4 operating income following cost-cutting measures. Its cloud service AWS grew revenue by 13 per cent. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey suggests that markets could be correct in predicting the rate cut timeline after the central bank kept rates steady in the first three-way split since 2008. And in the U.S., the Dow enjoys its best week since mid-December as investors anticipate today’s non-farm payroll data.  

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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dampens investor hopes of a much-anticipated rate cut in March with the S&P 500 suffering its worst session since September. French lender BNP Paribas disappoints, posting a Q4 profit of just over €1bn on higher provisions. The bank also pares back its profitability targets. In retail, Adidas predicts profits will almost double in 2024 to €500m following the sportswear titan’s controversial split with rapper Kanye West. And we hear from a slew of European CEOs today with Q4 corporate earnings in full swing.

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Disappointing advertising revenues push Alphabet shares into the red in extended trade despite the tech giant posting its fastest quarter for revenue growth since early 2022. Microsoft beats on the top and bottom line, enjoying its highest profit growth in more than two years but guidance for the current quarter is lukewarm. In the U.S., a Delaware judge rules against Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56bn pay package calling it ‘deeply flawed’, arguing that the board of directors had failed to prove it was fair. Shares in the EV maker slid around 3 per cent in extended trade. Chinese factory activity suffers its fourth straight month of contraction but the IMF’s Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas tells CNBC the country is exhibiting some signs of resilience.  

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Both the Dow and S&P 500 notch their sixth record session for the year as the U.S. Treasury slashes its Q1 borrowing guidance. Investors Stateside are now anticipating mega-cap tech earnings. In Hong Kong, tech and property firms drag stocks lower. Asian indices bar Japan are set to now break a two-month winning run. Car giant Renault cancels plans to list its EV unit due to poor market conditions and slowing uptake throughout Europe. Gambling giant Flutter debuts on the NYSE and now plans to make Wall Street its home in what appears to be yet another blow to the LSE.  

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Asia markets are in the green following a record close for the Dow on the back of personal consumption expenditure falling below 3 per cent for the first time in almost three years. Share of Chinese property giant Evergrande are stopped from trading after a the Hong Kong High Court orders the liquidation of the developer. Swiss building materials firm Holcim is to spin off and list its North American arm on Wall Street with a target valuation pf $30bn.

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