- Inga Muller
- 06 Dec, 2023
- Frankfurt
European stocks extended their gains of the week on top of significant increases in the previous session.
The DAX index increased 0.06% to 16,543.33, the CAC-40 index rose 0.1% to 7,393.55, and the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to 7,513.13.
The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 2.25%; French bonds traded lower to 2.81%; the UK gilts declined to 4.05%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 4.00%.
TUI AG soared 10.5% to €6.57 after the tour operator reported operating profit that more than doubled in 2023.
Operating profit in the fiscal year 2023 ending in September surged 139% to €977 million from €568 million a year ago.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 11% to €8.5 billion, and operating profit jumped by €164 million to €1.203 billion.
For the full year 2023, the company swung to a profit of €306 million from a loss of €277 million a year ago.
The tour operator also lowered its debt to €1.3 billion from €3.4 billion, following strong operating cash flow and a successful €1.8 billion rights offering in April.
The tour operator forecasted revenue in fiscal 2024 to increase by "at least 10%" and underlying operating profit by "at least 25%."
British American Tobacco dropped 7.8% to 2,291.50 pence after the company reiterated its full-year 2023 earnings per share outlook.
The maker of cigarette and smokeless tobacco products generates strong cash flow, and the company said it is making progress in lowering its debt.
"BAT is a highly cash-generative business, and we expect to deliver close to 100% operating cash flow conversion in 2023.
We are making progress towards reaching the middle of our guided 2-3x adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA leverage range and expect to be around 2.7x by year end," said the company in an update to investors.
The company said it plans to generate more than 50% of its revenue from non-combustibles by 2035.
Mining companies were among the leading gainers after metal prices advanced in London trading.
Glencore increased 1.8% to 446.20 pence, Antofagasta gained 1.5% to 1,439.50 pence, and Anglo American advanced 2.1% to 2,199.50 pence.
- Bridgette Randall
- 06 Dec, 2023
- Frankfurt
European markets advanced and extended the previous week's gain, and bond yields dropped to six-month lows.
Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, and London extended solid gains from the previous session after market sentiment shifted in favor of rate cuts.
German bond yields dropped below 2.3%, and Italian bonds hovered at 4% on expectations that the European Central Bank is likely to pivot from rate hikes to rate cuts earlier than expected.
Last month, the European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde lowered rate-cut expectations and said talks of rate cuts are "premature."
Despite the central bank's warning, investors held on to the belief that rates are likely to begin to decline in the second quarter of 2024, following the steady decline in energy prices over the last six months.
Europe Indexes and Yields
The DAX index increased 0.06% to 16,543.33, the CAC-40 index rose 0.1% to 7,393.55, and the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to 7,513.13.
The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 2.25%; French bonds traded lower to 2.81%; the UK gilts declined to 4.05%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 4.00%.
The euro traded lower to $1.079, the British pound inched lower to $1.259, and the U.S. dollar eased to 87.52 Swiss cents.
Brent crude decreased $0.34 to $76.83 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas increased by €1.11 to €39.88 per MWh.
Europe Stock Movers
TUI AG soared 10.5% to €6.57 after the tour operator reported operating profit that more than doubled in 2023.
Operating profit in the fiscal year 2023 ending in September surged 139% to €977 million from €568 million a year ago.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 11% to €8.5 billion, and operating profit jumped by €164 million to €1.203 billion.
For the full year 2023, the company swung to a profit of €306 million from a loss of €277 million a year ago.
The tour operator also lowered its debt to €1.3 billion from €3.4 billion, following strong operating cash flow and a successful €1.8 billion rights offering in April.
The tour operator forecasted revenue in fiscal 2024 to increase by "at least 10%" and underlying operating profit by "at least 25%."
British American Tobacco dropped 7.8% to 2,291.50 pence after the company reiterated its full-year 2023 earnings per share outlook.
The maker of cigarette and smokeless tobacco products generates strong cash flow, and the company said it is making progress in lowering its debt.
"BAT is a highly cash-generative business, and we expect to deliver close to 100% operating cash flow conversion in 2023.
We are making progress towards reaching the middle of our guided 2-3x adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA leverage range and expect to be around 2.7x by year end," said the company in an update to investors.
The company said it plans to generate more than 50% of its revenue from non-combustibles by 2035.
Mining companies were among the leading gainers after metal prices advanced in London trading.
Glencore increased 1.8% to 446.20 pence, Antofagasta gained 1.5% to 1,439.50 pence, and Anglo American advanced 2.1% to 2,199.50 pence.
- Arun Goswami
- 06 Dec, 2023
- Mumbai
Stocks in Mumbai advanced for the third day this week after investors bid up infrastructure and government-controlled companies following the state election results.
The Sensex index increased 275.08 points to 69,571.22, and the Nifty index rose 77.55 points to 20,932.65.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 198 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 15 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
Adani Group stocks advanced and led gainers in the 3-day market rally after the Supreme Court's decision last week to conclude a hearing related to allegations of financial misconduct.
Adani Power jumped 8% to ₹582.50, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone advanced 4% to ₹1,053.75, Adani Enterprises increased 2.3% to ₹3,029.0, and Adani Wilmar soared 6.5% to ₹405.75.
SBC Exports increased 1.1% to ₹32.15 after the company board approved the bonus issue ratio of 1 to 2.
Somany Ceramics jumped 3.5% to ₹720.30, and the company set December 15 as the stock buyback record date.
Zee Learn decreased 1.5% to ₹6.90, and Axis Bank initiated a corporate insolvency proceeding against the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Ventures Private Limited.
Patanjali Foods gained 3.5% to a new record ₹1,570.0 after the company said it plans to increase market share in food segments by keeping its focus on masala and biscuit product lines.
Hindustan Zinc gained 0.3% to ₹326.0 after the company's board approved a second interim dividend of ₹6 per share to shareholders on record on December 14.
The total dividend payment would be ₹2,533.19 crore.
- Arjun Pandit
- 06 Dec, 2023
- Mumbai
Stocks advanced for the third day in a row this week amid lingering optimism following the state election results.
The Sensex and the Nifty indexes jumped 0.3% and stretched weekly gains over 1.3%, and stocks in power, real estate, chemicals, and manufacturing sectors were among the leading gainers.
In overnight trading, benchmark indexes in New York closed mixed after a job openings report showed a cooling trend in the labor market.
Crude oil prices dropped to a five-month low after U.S. crude exports were estimated at a record 5.7 million barrels per day to Europe and Asia, according to a report by ship-tracking firms Kpler and Votrexa.
Just a month ago, U.S. crude oil exports were running at 4 million barrels per day, surpassing exports from any of the OPEC cartel, except Saudi Arabia.
The additional supply in global markets is putting more pressure on doubts about the impact of OPEC+'s decision to cut production by one million barrels a day.
India Indexes and Yields
The Sensex index increased 275.08 points to 69,571.22, and the Nifty index rose 77.55 points to 20,932.65.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 198 stocks traded at their 52-week highs and 15 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds edged up to 7.25%, and the Indian rupee weakened to ₹83.32 against the U.S. dollar.
The gold price increased by 0.2% to ₹62,283 per ten grams, and silver advanced by 0.3% to ₹75,515 per kilo.
Crude oil decreased by 0.6% to ₹6,045 per barrel, and natural gas fell by 1.2% to ₹225.30 per thermal unit.
India Stock Movers
Adani Group stocks advanced and led gainers in the 3-day market rally after the Supreme Court's decision last week to conclude a hearing related to allegations of financial misconduct.
Adani Power jumped 8% to ₹582.50, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone advanced 4% to ₹1,053.75, Adani Enterprises increased 2.3% to ₹3,029.0, and Adani Wilmar soared 6.5% to ₹405.75.
SBC Exports increased 1.1% to ₹32.15 after the company board approved the bonus issue ratio of 1 to 2.
Somany Ceramics jumped 3.5% to ₹720.30, and the company set December 15 as the stock buyback record date.
Zee Learn decreased 1.5% to ₹6.90, and Axis Bank initiated a corporate insolvency proceeding against the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Ventures Private Limited.
- Barry Adams
- 05 Dec, 2023
- New York City
Benchmark indexes lacked direction, and investors reviewed the latest job openings report and reassessed the economic outlook and the appropriate level of interest rates in early 2024.
Investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the widely anticipated rate-pause decision next week, but the ongoing debate raged on Wall Street centered on the direction of interest rates.
Investors also reviewed the latest job openings report, indicating a cooling labor market, but new hires and separations were little changed in October.
Market participants are looking ahead to the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, and five economists surveyed by Ticker.com are anticipating payrolls to expand by about 175,000 after growing by 150,000 in October.
Policymakers are closely watching the job market, and the latest job openings report confirmed the cooling trend over the last several months, but the overall job market is healthy.
One group of investors is supporting the view that interest rates are near peak rates and the Federal Reserve is more likely to cut rates as early as the second quarter of 2024.
The other group of investors is looking for the central bank to hold higher rates for longer, but many are worried that despite the eleven rate hikes between March 2022 and June 2023, prices are still rising faster than the 2% target rate set by the Federal Reserve.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed last Friday that talks of rate cuts are "premature" and inflation has a long way to go.
The Federal Reserve is engaged in a delicate balancing act of keeping economic growth intact while lowering inflation to 2% with a minimal impact on the labor market.
Overall inflation declined from a high of 9% in late 2022 to below 3% in recent months, largely because of the decline in energy prices and not because of multiple rate hikes by the central bank.
October Job Openings Dropped to 30-month Low
Job openings declined sharply in October after employers across the nation in several industries curtailed announcements for new hires.
The number of job openings declined by 617,000 to 8.7 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
Over the month, job openings decreased in health care and social assistance by 236,000.finance and insurance by 168,000, and real estate and rental and leasing by 49,000.
But job openings increased in information by 39,000.
The widespread decline in job vacancies lowered the ratio of openings to available workers to 1.3 to 1 from around 2 to 1 earlier in the year.
U.S. Indexes and Yields
The S&P 500 index declined 0.2% to 4,565.03, and the Nasdaq Composite decreased 0.3% to 14,240.12.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.63%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.23%, and 30-year Treasury bonds decreased to 4.39%.
Crude oil decreased $0.04 to $72.98 a barrel, and natural gas prices rose 2 cents to $2.71 a thermal unit.
Gold decreased $4.15 to $2,025.87 an ounce on the expectation of a decline in interest rates as early as in the second quarter of 2024 and a weakening of the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.79.
U.S. Stock Movers
Gitlab soared 14.2% to $60.44 after the software developer reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the company reported adjusted operating profit for the first time.
Lands End rose 1.5% after dropping as much as 9% to $6.75 after the apparel retailer reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
J.M. Smucker advanced 2.6% to $115.34, and the stock lacked direction after the food maker lowered its annual expectations after revenue plunged 12% from a year ago.
The company tightened the upper end of its comparable sales estimate and lowered its view of free cash flow and adjusted earnings per share.
European Market Indexes Traded at 4-month Highs
European markets inched to a four-month high, and investors debated the rate path and the economic health of the eurozone.
Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt and Paris advanced to a four-month high amid mixed worries about the European Central Bank's next move, energy price-driven inflation, and consumer spending.
On Monday. Germany reported a larger-than-expected trade surplus, and today France reported industrial production declining for the third month in a row.
French Industrial Production Eased In October
France's industrial production fell 0.3% in October from the previous month's upwardly revised 0.6% decline in September, the INSEE, the statistical office of France, reported Tuesday.
The weakness in mining, energy, and construction sector activities offset the slight rebound in manufacturing activities.
A year ago, industrial production rose 1.9% in October after falling 0.3% in September.
In other economic news, service sector activities in Spain and Italy shrank in October, two separate reports from S&P Global showed Tuesday.
The HCOB Italy Service PMI decreased to 49.5 in November, a decline for the fourth month in a row, but rose from a one-year low of 47.7 in October.
The HCOB Spain Service PMI eased to a three-month low of 49.8 in November from 50.0 in October.
Europe Indexes and Yields
The DAX index increased 0.8% to 16,533.11, the CAC-40 index rose 0.7% to 7,386.99, and the FTSE 100 index decreased 0.3% to 7,489.84.
The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 2.30%; French bonds traded lower to 2.86%; the UK gilts declined to 4.14%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 4.04%.
The euro traded lower to $1.083, the British pound inched lower to $1.263, and the U.S. dollar eased to 87.39 Swiss cents.
Brent crude increased $0.25 to $77.72 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas decreased by €1.98 to €38.13 per MWh.
Europe Stock Movers
Nokia declined 8.8% to €2.75 after AT&T said it plans to use telecom technology developed by Ericsson, which relies on cloud computing and non-proprietary off-shelf equipment developed by other companies.
Ericsson increased 4.9% to kr56.97.
AT&T said its telecom network equipment spending could reach as much as $14 billion over the next five years.
- Brian Turner
- 05 Dec, 2023
- New York City
Job openings declined sharply in October after employers across the nation in several industries curtailed announcements for new hires.
The number of job openings declined by 617,000 to 8.7 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
Over the month, job openings decreased in health care and social assistance by 236,000.finance and insurance by 168,000, and real estate and rental and leasing by 49,000.
But job openings increased in information by 39,000.
The widespread decline in job vacancies lowered the ratio of openings to available workers to 1.3 to 1 from around 2 to 1 earlier in the year.
On a regional basis, job openings fell in the South by 289,000, the Midwest by 193,000, the West by 83,000, and the Northeast by 52,000.
Over the month, the number of hires and total separations changed little, at 5.9 million and 5.6 million, respectively.
Within separations, quits were 3.6 million, and layoffs and discharges were 1.6 million, and both changed little.
While job openings fell, the number of hires fell slightly, and quits, the measure of workers confidence in finding another job, declined little.
- Scott Peters
- 05 Dec, 2023
- New York City
Stocks paused for the second day in a row after benchmark indexes rallied for five consecutive weeks following speculation that interest rates were near peak rates.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.2% to 4,565.03, and the Nasdaq Composite decreased 0.3% to 14,240.12.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.63%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.23%, and 30-year Treasury bonds decreased to 4.39%.
Gitlab soared 14.2% to $60.44 after the software developer reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the company reported adjusted operating profit for the first time.
Revenue in the third quarter increased 32% to $149.7 million from $113.0 million, net loss expanded to $285.2 million from $48.5 million, and diluted loss per share increased to $1.84 from 33 cents a year ago.
The company estimated fourth-quarter revenue to fall between $157 million and $158 million, non-GAAP operating income between $5 million and $6 million, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share between 8 cents and 9 cents.
The company estimated revenue in the fiscal year 2024 to range between $573 million and $574 million, non-GAAP-adjusted losses between $8 million and $9 million, and non-GAAP-adjusted diluted earnings per share between 12 cents and 13 cents.
Lands End fell 3.5% to $6.45 after the apparel retailer reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
Revenue in the third quarter declined 12.5% to $324.7 million from $371 million, and revenue fell 9.5% excluding Land's End Japan, which closed at the end of fiscal 2022.
Net loss expanded to $112.4 million from $4.7 million, and diluted loss per share rose to $3.52 from 14 cents a year ago.
In the fourth quarter, the company estimated revenue to range between $490 million and $520 million, net income to range between $4 million and $7 million, and diluted earnings per share between 13 cents and 22 cents.
The company guided revenue in fiscal 2023 to be between $1.45 billion and $1.48 billion, net loss between $115 million and $118 million, and diluted loss per share between $3.60 and $3.70.
J.M. Smucker advanced 2.6% to $115.34, and the stock lacked direction after the food maker lowered its annual expectations after revenue plunged 12% from a year ago.
Revenue in the fiscal second quarter ending in October declined 12% to $1.94 billion from $2.2 billion, net income increased 2% to $194.9 million from $191.1 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $1.90 from $1.79 a year ago.
The company tightened the upper end of its comparable sales estimate and lowered its view of free cash flow and adjusted earnings per share.
The comparable sales outlook range for fiscal 2024 was tightened to between 8.9% and 9% from the previous range of 8.5% and 9.5%, and the adjusted earnings per share range was between $9.25 and $9.65 from the previous estimate of between $9.45 and $9.85.
The company also sharply lowered its full-year free cash flow estimate to $530 million from $650 million, but its capital expenditure to increase to $610 million from the previous estimate of $550 million.