Not entirely, though, because investors had been braced for robust figures capable of reassuring the financial community about the wider AI ecosystem. For the past two days, the market has been buying back into technology stocks to play the Nvidia leverage effect. Professionals have considerable faith in the group's earnings releases, which have two key strengths. First, they tend to contain few surprises, given the sheer depth of the company's order book. Second, they remain spectacular, even as year-on-year comparisons grow ever more demanding. I shall not even quote the numbers and will merely note that the results deserve every superlative, yet again. Bloomberg published a vertical bar chart this morning that speaks volumes: between 2005 and 2017, revenue moved little from one quarter to the next. From 2019 to 2021, demand linked to bitcoin mining created a gentle upward ripple. From 2021 to 2023, the wave gathered momentum. Since then, the curve resembles a vertical wall worthy of the grandest north faces of the Alps. In short, Nvidia continues to reap the full benefit of AI-related investment, despite intensifying competition.

The point is that no one seriously doubts this: the company sits at the source of the equipment, and it is therefore siphoning off a share of the capital flooding into the sector. As a result, the quality of its earnings does not answer the multi-trillion-dollar question troubling investors: will the downstream segments of what has so far been heralded as the AI ecosystem genuinely emerge as winners? Put more pragmatically, after the stock market slump in certain emblematic sectors, Nvidia's good fortune does not guarantee similar success across the broader technology universe. That is why investors currently prefer to back tangible assets: high-powered chips (Nvidia and others), data centre and power infrastructure equipment suppliers (Siemens Energy, Eaton, Schneider Electric), as well as electricity providers (Engie) and basic materials groups (Fresnillo, Rio Tinto).

Among the torrent of results released since yesterday, those from US technology companies outside Nvidia have failed to impress. Software heavyweight Salesforce was down more than 4% after struggling to convince the market that AI represents an opportunity rather than a threat to its business. Synopsys, which specialises in software for electronics and semiconductors, fell by a similar margin following its figures.

Ahead of Nvidia's numbers, the market had effectively bought the rumour. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% in the United States and the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.7% in Europe. Index records are now too numerous to count on the old continent,

Today's session will be dominated by the noise surrounding Nvidia's release and by a myriad of corporate results, particularly in Europe this morning, as you will see shortly. Weekly US jobless claims should add a dash of spice to the debate over the trajectory of Federal Reserve interest rates.

In Asia-Pacific, Nvidia's lack of movement has not prevented South Korea from surging 3.7%, following an expected hold by the central bank. The KOSPI is up 46% since 1 January and 135% over the past year. Other markets are trading between flat and modest gains, except in Hong Kong where the Hang Seng is down 0.9%. The MSCI AC Pacific index has posted a fresh record, rising more than 1%. Europe is expected to open around flat, with a slight negative bias as Wall Street futures slip into the red.

Today's economic highlights:

On today's agenda: ECB President Lagarde's speech and economic sentiment in the Euro Area; in Italy, business and consumer confidence; in Spain, business confidence; in China, YTD FDI YoY; in the United States, initial jobless claims followed by Bowman's speech; in Canada, the current account. See the full calendar here.

  • GBP / USD: US$1.35
  • Gold: US$5,192.68
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): US$70.73
  • United States 10 years: 4.04%
  • BITCOIN: US$68,253.5

In corporate news:

  • Haleon reported full-year 2025 results with a slight sales miss but exceeded profitability expectations, projecting 2026 organic sales growth of 3-5% and high single-digit profit growth.
  • The Sage Group listed €500 million in notes due 2033 on the London Stock Exchange under its €1.5 billion medium-term note program.
  • Diageo reported a 2.8% decline in fiscal H1 organic sales, cut its dividend, and revised its 2026 guidance downward due to weakness in the US and China.
  • Shell offered additional financing to its Brazilian joint venture Raizen and expanded its European LNG and gas trading partnership with MET.
  • HSBC reported strong 2025 results, upgraded its midterm profitability targets, and increased its bonus pool by 10% to $3.93 billion.
  • GSK announced positive interim trial data for its HIV treatments and agreed to acquire Canadian biopharma company 35Pharma for $950 million.
  • Jet2 expects to meet market expectations for its fiscal year profit, supported by its upcoming London Gatwick launch and increased capacity.
  • Oxford BioMedica confirmed that EQT abandoned its takeover bid after multiple proposals were rejected as undervaluing the company.
  • Johnson Matthey faced a reduced sale price for its Catalyst Technologies unit but retained a buy rating from Berenberg.
  • ME Group delayed its financial results release due to audit procedures but reconfirmed its guidance.
  • Allianz reports an increase in net income and business volume for fiscal year 2025.
  • Deutsche Telekom exceeds expectations for fourth-quarter operating profit.
  • Banco Santander raises its earnings forecast for 2028 to more than €20 billion following acquisitions.
  • UCB reports an increase in profit and revenue for fiscal year 2025.
  • Sulzer reports an increase in net income and sales for fiscal year 2025.
  • Indra Sistemas forecasts revenues of more than €7 billion in 2026 at constant exchange rates.
  • Rieter reports a net loss in 2025.
  • Plaintiffs in the Roundup case are seeking to delay the preliminary review of Bayer's $7.25 billion settlement proposal, according to a court filing.
  • HSBC launches the sale of its insurance business in Singapore.
  • Allianz launches a share buyback program worth around €2.5 billion.
  • Shell offers additional financing to save its Brazilian joint venture.
  • Amadeus acquires US company SkyLink.
  • Elliott assures the UK that it will not seek to break up the London Stock Exchange or transfer its listing to New York, according to the FT.
  • Shares rising after closing following their quarterly results: Pure Storage (+2.5%), Nvidia (+0.15%)…
  • Shares down after closing following their quarterly results: Heico (-6.6%), Zoom Communications (-5%), Synopsys (-4.5%), Salesforce (-4.5%), Agilent (-3%), Snowflake (-2%)…
  • Corteva is targeting the fourth quarter for its planned split into two companies.

See more news from UK listed companies here

Analyst Recommendations:

  • Diageo Plc: Berenberg maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from GBP 23.72 to GBP 22.30.
  • Hsbc Holdings Plc: Mediobanca maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 1440 to GBX 1580.
  • Hiscox Ltd: Berenberg maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 1580 to GBX 1760.
  • Haleon Plc: Goldman Sachs maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 440 to GBX 460.
  • Halma Plc: Oxcap Analytics maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 4185 to GBX 4560.
  • British American Tobacco P.l.c.: Baptista Research downgrades to underperform from hold with a price target raised from USD 59.40 to USD 64.40.
  • Diageo Plc: Evercore ISI maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from GBP 20 to GBP 18.
  • St. James's Place Plc: RBC Capital maintains its sector perform recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 1375 to GBX 1425.
  • Jet2 Plc: Morgan Stanley maintains its equal weight recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 1450 to GBX 1325.
  • Orsted A/S: Berenberg maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from DKK 140 to DKK 180.
  • Leonardo S.p.a.: Mediobanca maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from EUR 72 to EUR 70.
  • Pirelli & C. S.p.a.: Mediobanca maintains its neutral recommendation and raises the target price from EUR 7 to EUR 7.10.
  • Eon Se: BNP Paribas maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from EUR 19.10 to EUR 20.50.
  • L'oréal: Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg maintains its hold recommendation and raises the target price from EUR 370 to EUR 380.