(ABM FN) The Brussels stock exchange is preparing for a neutral opening on Thursday, after an unchanged close on Wall Street on Wednesday evening.
After a positive start to the trading day, the Brussels stock exchange had to give up all profits again on Wednesday. Interest-sensitive real estate shares in particular had a difficult time. The Bel20 closed 0.2 percent lower at 3,883.83 points.
The price gains evaporated during the afternoon on both sides of the ocean. Investment expert Philip Gijsels of BNP Paribas pointed to rising interest rates.
The initial green rates in Europe and Wall Street this week appeared to be due to a strong earnings season. More than 20 percent of U.S. S&P 500 companies have reported their results and more than three-quarters exceeded analyst expectations, said Justin Blekemolen of Lynx.
Car manufacturer Tesla did not do that after trading hours on Tuesday. Turnover and profit fell faster than expected, but the news that the car manufacturer wants to produce cheaper cars early next year still resulted in a share price gain of 11 percent. The share is still in the red by 35 percent this year.
The US stock markets fluctuated between slight gains and losses on Wednesday, after opening higher, but ultimately closed flat.
On Wednesday after trading on Wall Street, Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, exceeded expectations with a more than doubling of net profit over the past quarter to $ 12.7 billion, but the outlook disappointed investors. The share fell by as much as 15 percent in after-hours electronic trading. The Meta share had already risen 40 percent this year.
US oil futures were 0.2 percent higher this morning at $82.93 per barrel.
In addition to the quarterly figures of Alphabet and Microsoft, among others, both after hours on Wall Street, investors today focused on American economic growth in the past quarter. Investors are also looking ahead to Friday’s PCE inflation data, which could provide more clarity on the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates.
“The consensus expects first-quarter GDP to be around 2.5 percent annualized, which would mean a slowdown in economic growth from the 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter,” Bel asset manager Carl Ludwigson said Air Investment Advisors.
As for PCE inflation, Ludwigson expects an increase from 2.5 percent to 2.6 percent and “anything significantly higher than this is likely to be interpreted as ‘too hot’,” the asset manager said.
Company news
UCB has made a good start in 2024. The Brussels pharmaceutical company announced this on Thursday morning in the run-up to the annual meeting. The company subsequently provided an update on innovation and growth. UCB has been growing for more than 10 years now and is well on its way to meeting 2024 expectations, the company said.
Kinepolis received 9.6 percent fewer visitors in the first quarter compared to the first quarter in 2023. The lower number of visitors translated into lower turnover compared to the same period last year, as well as a lower EBITDA and a lower net result.
Azelis still expects to grow organically this year, but warned this morning that the timing of the recovery remains uncertain.
Wall Street closing positions
The S&P 500 index closed flat on Wednesday at 5,071.67 points, the Dow Jones index lost 0.1 percent to 38,460.92 points and the Nasdaq closed 0.1 percent higher at 15,712.75 points.
Source: ABM Financial News
ABM Financial News is a supplier of stock market news, video and data, both for real-time trading platforms and dealing rooms and for online and offline media publications. The information in this article is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.
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