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| This week's gainers and losers |
| Gainers: Ciena +21.94%: The network platform specialist ends the year on a high note. The share price jumps after a rise in sales in the fourth fiscal quarter, despite a drop in non-US revenues. Tesla +12.08%: New record high for the automaker. The stock has soared since the election of Donald Trump and the central role given to Elon Musk in the future administration. Musk is the first man with a fortune in excess of $400 billion. Alphabet +8.65%: Another new record for Google's parent company, which is benefiting from its announcements in quantum computing and the appointment of Andrew Ferguson as Chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission. The latter is opposed to censorship of the tech giants, which reassures us about the possible split-up of the group threatened by anti-trust laws. Currys +15.65%: The London-based electronics retailer is confident about the future. In a press release, the company said its performance “continues to strengthen”, despite the “unwelcome headwinds of UK government policy”. Currys consolidates its good momentum this year. FirstGroup +7.77%: The Scottish-based public transport company announced the acquisition of RATP Dev Transit London and its subsidiaries for an enterprise value of £90 million. This acquisition enables FirstGroup to enter the London bus market and further diversify its revenues. Losers: Moonpig -17.29%: The company announced unexpected losses at the end of its first fiscal half-year due to a large accounting write-down. Analysts, however, point to a solid operating performance. CVS Health -10.71%: A new bill in Congress aims to further regulate healthcare managers, CVS Health and other players in the sector are having a complicated week. Omnicom -12.67%: The market reacts harshly to the proposed merger with Interpublic, even though it creates the world's number one advertising company, ahead of Publicis and WPP. Adobe -15.78%: Expectations for the San Jose-based company continue to rise. Quarterly results disappointed the market this week. UnitedHealth -5.3%: The dark case of the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, resonates as much in Wall Street as in American society. Moreover, the group is facing the same fears as CVS. |
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| Commodities |
Energy: Oil rebounds this week (+3%) despite persistent headwinds. OPEC has revised its global demand growth forecasts downwards, highlighting the impact of a slower-than-expected economic recovery. In addition, the International Energy Agency expects global oil supply to outstrip demand by 2025, which could keep the market in surplus. In the very short term, oil prices reacted positively to news that the Biden administration is considering new sanctions against Russia, pushing Brent to USD 73.90 a barrel. The US benchmark is trading above USD 70. Metals: Copper prices remain stable at USD 9192 in London. Investors' attention remains riveted on Beijing, awaiting further economic stimulus to support demand for metals. In precious metals, gold has to contend with a sharp rise in bond yields, which is limiting its upside potential. The gold metal is trading at around USD 2,660. Agricultural products: The coffee market is catching its breath after hitting record highs, while cocoa continues its spectacular ascent, up 157% since the start of the year. Cocoa's bullish momentum is fueled by persistent concerns over global supply, exacerbated by unfavorable weather conditions in West Africa. |
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| Macroeconomics |
| Atmosphere: The current market mantra seems to be "take it easy," but not because the holiday season is around the corner. Instead, it's the result of a series of monetary policy moves. The European Central Bank has trimmed interest rates by 25 basis points, while Switzerland has gone a step further, slashing rates by 50 basis points. All eyes are now on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is set to meet on the 18th. The consensus among Fed watchers is a 25 basis point cut, but the real intrigue lies in what follows. Recent inflation figures paint a mixed picture: consumer prices (CPI) are stabilizing, while producer prices (PPI) are creeping up, both stubbornly above the 2% target. This has stirred the 10-year bond market, with yields climbing from 4.13% to 4.35% in just a few days. Meanwhile, the gap between short-term and long-term rates is widening, a trend that typically benefits banking stocks. Crypto: Bitcoin (BTC) remains at equilibrium this week, just above the symbolic $100,000 mark. All eyes are now on the market's second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of valuation: ether (ETH). Although it's down 2.72% this week, it's the Ethereum Spot ETFs that are the focus of attention. Indeed, these exchange-traded products backed by the ether price have seen record inflows in recent weeks, whereas activity had been sluggish since their launch last May. No less than $825 million in net inflows were recorded this week, bringing total ETF outstandings to $13.6 billion, or 2.91% of all ETHs in circulation. Sailing around $3,900, ether remains around $1,000 below its all-time high reached in November 2021. Many believe that a more flexible Trump administration with the regulatory framework for decentralized finance (DeFi) will be favorable to the development of the Ethereum ecosystem. After a flamboyant year for bitcoin in 2024, will 2025 be the year of ether's ascent? Find out in the coming months. |
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| Things to read this week | ||||||
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*The weekly movements of indexes and stocks displayed on the dashboard are related to the period ranging from the open on Monday to the sending time of this newsletter on Friday. The weekly movements of commodities, precious metals and currencies displayed on the dashboard are related to a 7-day rolling period from Friday to Friday, until the sending time of this newsletter. These assets continue to quote on weekends. |
