Before the bell: uncertainty

Donald Trump and Jerome Powell hit Wall Street with a one-two punch. Meanwhile, Netflix finds itself in the corner taking a beating.

Global stock markets ended last week on a downbeat note. Investors are particularly concerned about Donald Trump’s selection of cabinet members. Elon Musk is expected to become the Secretary of Government Efficiency, and the controversial appointment of noted anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services has shaken the pharmaceutical sector. Even Belgium’s UCB, which more than doubled its stock price this year thanks to strong performances, dropped 6% on Friday. The Brussels-based Bel20 lost 3% over the week, and U.S. indices also saw red. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 2.3% and 3.5%, respectively, over the past week. Adding to the gloom was news that the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to slow its pace of rate cuts. According to Jerome Powell, there’s no rush given the strong economy.

This morning in Asia, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong is up 0.6%, while Tokyo’s Topix is down 0.7%. In Belgium, Retail Estates has already released its earnings, reporting increases in rental income and EPRA earnings. In the United States, online travel agency Trip.com will release its earnings later today. On Wednesday, all eyes will be on Nvidia’s earnings report, as the chipmaker’s results could have a significant impact on the markets.

Emergency at Northvolt

Things aren’t looking good for Northvolt. The Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer for electric vehicles is reportedly close to filing for creditor protection. The company is in desperate need of fresh capital and is focusing all its efforts on ramping up production at its subarctic factory in northern Sweden. To do so, it has canceled other projects and laid off a quarter of its workforce. Despite these measures, success remains elusive. Earlier this year, the company also lost a 2 billion dollars contract with BMW. Investors, including the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, have likely already written off the company’s value in their books. It remains to be seen how this will end.

Not without a fight

Sixty million—that’s how many households were glued to their screens this weekend to watch the boxing match between YouTuber Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on Netflix. However, the streaming experience wasn’t smooth sailing, with many viewers complaining about poor quality and long loading times. While Mike Tyson may have lost the match, the biggest loser came from outside the ring. Investors are now questioning the future of live-streaming major events, especially as even Netflix failed to deliver a seamless experience. We’ll see this afternoon how the stock reacts.

Did you know…

that U.S. ETFs have already seen a net inflow of 913 billion dollars this year? This breaks the record set in 2021, and there’s still over a month to go!

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