Before the bell: Status Quo

The U.S. central bank holds its ground. Alphabet under pressure. AB InBev surprises with earnings beat.

As expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged. Wednesday evening was Jerome Powell’s moment to point fingers. According to the Fed Chair, economic risks are mounting, and uncertainty is increasing—primarily due to the erratic tariff policy of President Donald Trump. Powell warned that the many import duties will slow down the U.S. economy while simultaneously driving up both inflation and unemployment. Markets barely reacted to the policy update: the S&P 500 rose by 0.4%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.3%. DoorDash dropped 6.0%—its second sharp loss in as many days. In Europe, the average stock declined by 0.6%, and Belgium’s Bel20 fell by 1.2%.

In Asia, markets opened modestly higher. Japan’s Topix gained 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.6%, led by carmakers Li Auto (+5.7%) and Geely Automobile (+4.2%). Back in Belgium, AB InBev surprised investors this morning with a 7.9% rise in quarterly profit—well ahead of analysts’ expectations of a 3.1% increase. Other Belgian companies reporting results today include Solvay, Argenx, and logistics real estate player Montea. In Germany, Rheinmetall, Infineon, and Puma open their books, while in the U.S., results are due from Shopify, ConocoPhillips, theTradeDesk, Mercado Libre, and Cloudflare.

Will Apple kick Google to the curb?

Alphabet’s stock plunged 7.5% after reports emerged that Apple plans to offer users of its Safari browser multiple search engine options in the near future. These may include AI-powered solutions from firms such as Perplexity and China-based DeepSeek. Currently, Google is the default search engine on Apple devices. That deal is lucrative for both sides: Alphabet reportedly pays Apple 20 billion dollar annually to remain the default engine on iPhones and iPads—a partnership that brings Google hundreds of millions of users and a major boost in advertising revenue. But that collaboration may soon come to an end.

Bright outlook for specialty metals

AMG Critical Materials reported a solid first quarter, with revenue rising by 8% year-over-year to 388 million dollar. The Dutch firm also raised its full-year forecast for the second time in a row. In February, it guided for an adjusted EBITDA of 150 million dollar in 2025. On Wednesday evening, it bumped that estimate up to “170 million dollar or more.” The company also laid out an ambitious growth plan: it aims to raise that figure to 500 million dollar within five years. That’s a bold target—especially given where the stock has been. Less than two years ago, shares traded near 50 euro on Euronext Amsterdam. On April 7, the price had dropped to 12.4 euro. Yesterday’s closing price was 16.67 euro.

Did you know…

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has invested in the Amsterdam-based AI firm Toloka? The company was founded eleven years ago to improve search algorithms and has since evolved into a major provider of data for training and developing AI models.

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