Before the bell: Trump II Tries to Win Back Investors

Tesla misses expectations, but Elon Musk salvages the day. Novo Nordisk surprises everyone.

After Monday’s sharp drop of 2–3%, Wall Street bounced back on Tuesday with similarly strong gains. The IMF lowered its economic growth outlook, and consumer confidence in Belgium and the eurozone declined—though neither came as a surprise. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a potential de-escalation in trade tariffs with China during a meeting with investors. Many suspect that Bessent was behind the 90-day pause on the steep tariffs Trump recently announced. However, more than two weeks into that pause, there’s still no sign of progress. In fact, Japan has already walked away from the negotiation table. Meanwhile, U.S. earnings season is in full swing. Kimberly-Clark, best known for tissues and toilet paper, missed revenue expectations and lowered its full-year guidance due to anticipated tariff impacts, sending its stock down 1.5%. On the flip side, industrial giant 3M (+8.1%) was rewarded for maintaining its outlook. Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-35 fighter jet, posted excellent results but gained only 0.8%. After hours, Intuitive Surgical, known for its robotic surgery systems, reported better-than-expected earnings.

In Asia, both Hong Kong and Tokyo are up around 2% this morning. Later today, the S&P Global PMI will provide an early look at business confidence in the eurozone for April. A decline is expected—but how steep will it be? More earnings are due from EssilorLuxottica, Danone, Kering, Besi, SAP, and Volvo Trucks. In the U.S., all eyes are on Boeing, Texas Instruments, and IBM.

Novo Nordisk vs. Eli Lilly

Last Thursday, U.S.-based Eli Lilly reported promising trial results for a weight-loss pill. However, the study focused on diabetes patients, meaning further research on individuals with obesity is still required. Surprisingly, Novo Nordisk announced yesterday in the U.S. that it had already filed for approval of the oral version of Wegovy, its injectable weight-loss drug. While many expected Eli Lilly to be the first to launch a pill-based solution, Novo Nordisk may beat them to the finish line—unless the FDA slows or rejects the application. Barring such a delay, the recent halving of Novo’s share price seems overdone. In Copenhagen, the stock dropped another 7% yesterday, while its U.S. listing actually rose 2.7%.

Elon Musk Sticks to His Guns—Sort Of

Tesla delivered 13% fewer cars in Q1 compared to the same period last year. Revenue came in at 19.3 billion dollars and earnings per share were just 0.27 dollars—well below analyst expectations. The company no longer provides full-year guidance. While Tesla acknowledged that “politics” have affected sales, it pointed mainly to customers waiting for the revamped Model Y. The company said that sales in China fell only 11% in March, compared to 49% in February, suggesting improvement. Musk also announced he would now spend less time on government budget cuts and more on Tesla. That reassurance lifted Tesla’s stock in after-hours trading. He went on to blame the recent sales slump on disgruntled customers whose incomes were affected. No explanation was given for the drop in European sales.

Did you know…

that Trump said after the markets closed yesterday that he has no intention of firing Jerome Powell as Fed chair? Just like with the tariffs, he appears to backtrack following sharp market reactions.

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