Before the bell: America on top

Investing from your hammock, a new AI darling on Wall Street, and still some bad news for UCB this year.

European stock markets continue to lag behind. Yesterday, the Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.4%, while the Bel20 was the best performer in the European class, closing 0.3% higher. The Belgian index was primarily driven by biotech company Argenx, which traded above 600 euros per share for the first time. Automakers took a beating: Volkswagen (-2%), BMW (-3.2%), Mercedes-Benz (-3.9%), and Stellantis (-4.6%). Volkswagen is expected to reach an agreement with unions by Christmas, while Stellantis still seems to be reeling from the abrupt departure of CEO Carlos Tavares. Across the Atlantic, investors were in a better mood. They pushed the S&P 500 up by 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.2%.

This morning in Asia, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped by 0.5%, and the Topix in Tokyo slipped 0.2%. In Europe, the trade balance for October will be published later today. In the United States, we’ll see new figures on industrial production. After the closing bell, it’s time for American aerospace and electronics company HEICO to release its earnings.

A new AI darling

Broadcom shares continued to build on Friday’s gains, rising another 11.2% yesterday. With a market value of no less than 1.17 trillion dollars, the company has joined the exclusive one trillion dollar club. The chipmaker caught investors’ attention as its AI revenue surged to 12.2 billion dollars annually, an impressive 220% increase. For the coming year, Broadcom expects its AI revenue to grow another 40%, reaching 17 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Nvidia finds itself overshadowed by other AI firms. Its stock has fallen 11.4% since its peak in November, even as the Nasdaq rose 3% during the same period.

Not a flawless year

Pharmaceutical company UCB has pulled the plug on its candidate drug minzasolmin. The medication, which aimed to treat Parkinson’s disease, delivered disappointing results in the second testing phase. UCB, which developed the drug in partnership with Swiss firm Novartis, announced that the treatment offers no clinical benefit. However, this does not mean that UCB is abandoning its focus on Parkinson’s treatments. The company still has several candidate drugs targeting the progression and symptoms of the disease. In Belgium alone, Parkinson’s disease affects more than 40,000 people. This news marks a small setback in what has otherwise been a stellar year for UCB. Shares of the pharmaceutical company have gained 134% since the beginning of January.

Did you know…

that the term ‘hammock investing’ has been chosen as the Word of the Year 2024 by Van Dale? The term refers to ‘passive investing through index funds and ETFs’ and won the contest with a remarkable 46.8% of the votes. Do you already have an index fund in your portfolio?

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