When you do my job, which is to entertain you by gossiping at dawn about the latest financial news, it is sometimes tempting to dip into the archives the day after a holiday to fulfil your obligations. Writing with a dry mouth, on aspirin and sleep deprived, encourages laziness. Especially when none of your colleagues seem to have bothered to stick to their schedules. In short, last night, the team celebrated the start of autumn and the arrival of four new professionals, as AOF news agency joined MarketScreener on 1 October.

So this morning, I resisted the temptation to refresh an old column and try to serve it up to you as if it were brand new. That won't prevent a few repetitions, since with the American markets, it's a bit like Groundhog Day in 2025. The three major Wall Street indices (i.e. the S&P 500 for completeness, the Nasdaq 100 for the tech thrill and the Dow Jones for tradition) each hit new record highs. The doubts that emerged last week, while not entirely dispelled, have been swept under the carpet. And never mind that the United States has been facing a budget deadlock for the past 24 hours, due to a lack of agreement on federal spending between the country's two political blocs.

Europe was not to be outdone yesterday. In fact, it had one of its best sessions in recent memory. Those of you who are familiar with the contents of the indices, and I know there are many of you, will have deduced from the sharp rises in the Swiss SMI and the Belgian Bel 20 that the healthcare sector had a good day. In fact, all of Europe's laboratories, manufacturers and medical equipment producers ended the day sharply higher. When Roche and Sanofi gain 8%, something is happening. In this case, it was an agreement signed between the Trump administration and Pfizer that sparked the rally.

I'll spare you the details and get straight to the point: the worst-case scenario imagined by investors for relations between the White House and the pharmaceutical industry did not materialize. As a result, the risk premium that made healthcare one of the worst-performing sectors on the stock market this year has been significantly reduced. Hence the surge in companies in the sector. To draw a parallel with the recent negotiations on customs duties, the situation in the sector is not as favourable as it was on 1 January, but it is less damaging than might have been feared.

Everything is relative. Incidentally, Trump's strategy has worked again: the pharmaceutical industry will pay its share of customs duties while agreeing to reduce its sales prices in the United States in exchange for the administration dropping its most extreme threats. The White House is getting almost everything it wants. Returning to the impact of the rise in healthcare stocks in Europe, the German DAX and French CAC 40, which are less rich in healthcare stocks than the SMI and Bel 20, still gained 0.98% and 0.9% respectively yesterday.

In other news, the first shutdown in seven years in the United States did not derail local equity markets, which were buoyed by poor employment figures in the ADP survey. These figures reinforce the prospect of a rate cut later this month. Staying with central banks, the Supreme Court has rejected Donald Trump's request for the immediate removal of Governor Lise Cook. The saga therefore continues. Returning to the shutdown, Vice-President JD Vance believes that an agreement could be reached in the short term, which would avoid layoffs in federal jobs. Financiers are not overly concerned if the deadlock does not last long. They would be more worried if the situation dragged on.

In Asia-Pacific, the theme of artificial intelligence is boosting technology stocks, particularly in South Korea. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have announced preliminary agreements with OpenAI to supply memory chips to the data centres of the Stargate AI infrastructure project in the United States. The KOSPI index gained 2.8% at the end of trading. Other markets are showing similar optimism: Sydney gained 1.1%, Tokyo around 1% and Mumbai 0.9%. Taiwan, another market rich in technology stocks, rose 1.6%. In Hong Kong, technology enabled the Hang Seng to post a third consecutive session of gains, up 1.6% and reaching a new high since 2021. The Chinese mainland market is closed until 8 October inclusive for Golden Week, a long traditional holiday period in the country. European leading indicators are bullish. It's time for me to contribute to the pharmaceutical sector's rebound by taking my first ibuprofen of the day.

Today's economic highlights:

On today's agenda: the consumer price index in Switzerland; the unemployment rate in the eurozone; in the United States, Challenger layoffs, new jobless claims, durable goods orders, and factory orders. See the full calendar here.

  • GBP / USD: US$1.35
  • Gold: US$3,869.58
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): US$65.6
  • United States 10 years: 4.11%
  • BITCOIN: US$118,501

In corporate news:

  • BP plc accelerates asset sales and strategic shift towards oil and gas.
  • 3i Group considers selling Evernex, an IT infrastructure services company.
  • IG Group CEO makes significant share purchase.
  • Cavendish PLC anticipates a 1.8% revenue increase in H1, driven by equity issues and M&A mandates.
  • Jaguar Land Rover (Tata Motors) receives a 1.5 billion Stg loan guarantee from UK Business Secretary.
  • Volkswagen reports a decline in US sales in Q3, except for SUVs.
  • Stellantis reports a 6% year-over-year sales increase in Q3 2025, driven by Fiat and Jeep.
  • Generali Investments completes acquisition of a majority stake in MGG Investment Group.
  • Brunello Cucinelli reports 11.3% revenue growth in Q3 2025, reaching EUR 335.5 million.
  • Iveco Group and DLL form joint venture GATE for low-emission vehicles in Europe.
  • Galapagos receives non-binding offers for its cell therapy business.
  • Glencore signs MoU with Metallium Ltd for electronic scrap collaboration; Lomas Bayas mine remains operational.
  • OpenAI valuation reaches $500 billion after share sale; partners with Japan's Digital Agency.
  • Microsoft restructures under CEO Satya Nadella, launches AI-enhanced products, and raises Xbox subscription prices.
  • Tesla sees increased Q3 deliveries due to expiring US EV credit; Elon Musk's net worth hits $500 billion.
  • General Motors reports a 7.7% increase in U.S. auto sales in Q3.
  • Citigroup Inc. hires Ric Spencer as Vice Chair of Technology Investment Banking.
  • Dataiku moves forward with IPO by hiring investment banks.
  • American Honda reports 105,097 units sold in September.
  • Toyota Motor Corp announces a 16% increase in U.S. sales for Q3.

See more news from UK listed companies here

Analyst Recommendations:

  • Glencore Plc: RBC Capital maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 340 to GBX 350.
  • Antofagasta Plc: RBC Capital maintains its sector perform recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 2000 to GBX 1900.
  • Astrazeneca Plc: Goldman Sachs maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 15163 to GBX 15013.
  • Greggs Plc: Jefferies maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 2650 to GBX 2500.
  • Molten Ventures Vct Plc: Canaccord Genuity maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from CAD 63 to CAD 74.
  • Man Group Plc: Citi maintains its neutral recommendation and raises the target price from GBP 1.70 to GBP 1.90.
  • Wolters Kluwer N.v.: KBC Securities upgrades to buy from hold with a target price of EUR 154.
  • Moncler S.p.a.: Grupo Santander maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from EUR 58 to EUR 54.
  • Sgs Sa: Oddo BHF maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from CHF 100 to CHF 95.
  • Hermès International: Grupo Santander maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from EUR 2725 to EUR 2600.
  • Swatch Group: Grupo Santander maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from CHF 165 to CHF 174.
  • Compagnie Financiere Richemont: Grupo Santander maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from CHF 185 to CHF 175.