Before the bell: ti amo Commerzbank

Chinese support measures give the Hang Seng Index wings. Another green light for UCB and which U.S. stock is performing best since January?

In Brussels, the Bel20 (+0.4%) turned light green. An average European share did slightly less well, rising 0.3%. Investors bought carmakers: BMW (+2.5%), Stellantis (+2.3%), Volkswagen (+2.1%) and Mercedes-Benz Group (+2%). Banks, in turn, were sent packing: BNP Paribas (-3.7%), Intesa Sanpaolo (-1.9%), Banco Santander (-1.3%) and ING (-0.9%). Just last week, the ceo of Italy’s UniCredit (-3.3%) announced that it is not planning a hostile takeover of Commerzbank (-5.7%). Meanwhile, yesterday, the bank announced that it holds 21% of its German counterpart and is asking the ECB’s permission to increase its position to a further 29.9%. Just a stone’s throw away from the 30% limit, after which the company must launch a mandatory takeover bid. We wonder if the Italians keep their word. In any case, the German government is not happy with the development. Yesterday was also a light green day on the other side of the Atlantic. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq technology exchange rose 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. Tesla shares (+4.9%) excelled. 

This morning in Asia, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong pops 3.6% higher after China’s central bank announced support measures. Also in Japan, the Topix is up 0.7%. Over here and in Germany, we get the results of business confidence polls. In the US, we get AutoZone and KB Home figures.

Green wave for UCB

Another victory for Belgian pharma pearl UCB. The US health watchdog FDA reported yesterday that the flagship drug Bimzelx may also be used on other fronts. From now on, the drug may also be sold as a treatment for axial spondyloarthritis, spondylitis ankylosans and psoriatic arthritis. These are inflammatory diseases in adults. UCB’s drug can be administered as a subcutaneous injection four times a month. Those additional approvals in the U.S. were expected, though. Earlier, the company received the green light in Japan and Europe. But it does confirm that Bimzelx is a jack-of-all-trades that can be used on multiple fronts.

Best performance

If you ask people which stock is the best performing stock from the U.S. S&P 500 index this year, the answer will often be Nvidia. But that is no longer true. Texas-based Vistra Corp, whose stock has risen a whopping 193% since the beginning of the year, currently takes the crown. Vistra Corp is one of the largest generators of energy in the U.S., and that is precisely what appeases investors. With expectations high for artificial intelligence worldwide and knowing that those data centers consume masses of energy, investors see opportunities in power generators. And not just any energy generators, preferably nuclear power generators. Even Constellation Energy, which just last week announced it was planning a restart of a nuclear power plant to power Microsoft’s data centers, is already up 123% this year. What about Nvidia? That stock climbed “only” 141% since January. 

Did you know…

the Israeli government wants to abolish the 200 shekel banknote? The bill has a value of just under 50 euros in conversion. With the abolition, the government wants to combat the use of black money and thus increase government revenues.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.