Before the bell: rising demand for Belgian chips

Melexis and Corning outperform expectations. Basic-Fit and Novo Nordisk take a hit.

The Bel20 gained 0.6% yesterday. Standout performer in the Brussels benchmark index was UCB (+3.5%). The pharmaceutical company will report results tomorrow, and expectations are running high. Analysts estimate that sales of its psoriasis treatment Bimzelx nearly tripled in the first half of the year—from 215 million euro to 607 million euro. In the Netherlands, the AEX rose 0.2%, with Philips (+9.3%) lifting the index after raising its profit forecast. In the United States, equity markets remained upbeat. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3%, and the Nasdaq added 0.4%. PayPal tumbled 7.6% after its CEO warned of cautious consumer behavior and weaker sales of Chinese goods in the US. Meanwhile, glassmaker Corning surged 11.9%, driven by higher demand for its data center and solar panel components.

This morning in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down 0.6%, while Japan’s Topix gains 0.4%. Locally, we expect results from Solvay and Aedifica. In France, earnings are due from Airbus, Danone, and Hermès. In the US, we’ll get figures from Vertiv, Altria, Teva, Kraft Heinz, and Virtu Financial before the bell—and from Meta, Microsoft, and Qualcomm after hours.

Sharp blow for Novo Nordisk

The Danish maker of weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy appointed a new CEO on Tuesday. Maziar Mike Doustdar will soon take the helm. The announcement wasn’t met with much fanfare—instead, the company issued a profit warning that sent its share price tumbling. At one point during the day, the stock dropped nearly 30%, closing down 23.1% on the Copenhagen stock exchange. It’s the second downward revision to guidance this year. The US market remains a sticking point, where Novo Nordisk faces growing competition from Eli Lilly (-5.6%), which benefits from home-ground advantage. Compounding the pressure, the company said illegal knock-offs of Ozempic and Wegovy are still being sold in the US despite an FDA warning.

Melexis beats expectations

Belgian chipmaker Melexis reported second-quarter revenue of 211 million euro, beating the earlier forecast of 200 million euro by CEO Marc Biron in April. The upside was driven by stronger-than-expected sales in Europe and China. Melexis has been one of the stars of the Brussels stock exchange in recent months. In April, shares traded around 44 euro. Since then, the stock has climbed more than 70% to a high of 76.30 euro, fueled by hopes of a recovery in the auto sector. However, the rally cooled in recent weeks due to disappointing results from peers like STMicroelectronics and NXP. The share closed at 67.65 euro yesterday. With these strong results, investors may once again drive the stock higher.

Did you know…

that India is the second-largest market for Sensodyne, the toothpaste for sensitive teeth? To appeal to local consumers, the product is sold in small sachets. British manufacturer Haleon is also experimenting with pocket-sized versions of its Centrum vitamin powder and ENO antacid, tailored to the Indian market.

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