Before the bell: phenomenal

HSBC books a one-off cost of 1.1 billion dollar, Amazon plans to cut 30,000 jobs, and UCB limits its losses after a downgrade.

Wall Street ended another stellar session, with the S&P 500 up 1.2% and the Nasdaq gaining 1.9%. Keurig Dr Pepper (+7.6%) was picked up after reporting quarterly results that were exactly in line with earnings forecasts — but with higher-than-expected revenue. One could argue that this implies lower margins, yet investors clearly preferred to see the glass half full. Waste Management missed its quarterly targets and fell 3% after hours. At Nvidia (+2.8%), there’s no sign of fear over new competition from Qualcomm’s AI chips (+11.1%). Other big names joined the party: Tesla (+4.3%), Alphabet (+3.6%), and Apple (+2.3%). In Europe, the celebrations were more subdued. The average stock rose 0.6%, while the Bel20 spent most of the day in the red after a sell recommendation on UCB (-1.2%). The biotech stock eventually pared its losses, allowing the Brussels index to close exactly flat versus Friday. In Amsterdam, Prosus jumped 2.9%, supported by a similar rise in Tencent shares in Hong Kong and the announcement that the Dutch holding will partner with venture capital firm Accel to invest in Indian start-ups.

In Asia, investors are taking profits this morning. The Topix in Tokyo fell 1.1%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.2%. Xiaomi dropped another 3%, bringing its one-month loss to roughly 25% of its market value. Today, Europe will release new-car registration data for September, while Aedifica publishes a quarterly update after market close. In the U.S., UnitedHealth, PayPal, and UPS will report before the bell, followed by Visa, Enphase Energy, and Electronic Arts after hours.

Madoff still haunts HSBC — 1.1 billion dollar later

Short-term interest rates are falling globally, while long-term yields remain relatively high. Add to that a wave of IPOs, mergers, and acquisitions — in theory, a perfect environment for banks to profit. Yet HSBC this morning reported a 14% drop in quarterly profit versus last year, due to an exceptional write-off of 1.1 billion dollar. The loss stems from the Madoff case — yes, the Ponzi scheme uncovered 17 years ago. HSBC had provided services to the fraudulent fund and disputed the repayment of cash it withdrew shortly before the collapse. After losing the appeal, the bank must now pay up. Investors, however, seem forgiving: HSBC’s shares rose 3.4% in Hong Kong trading this morning.

Amazon reaches for the big broom

Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire: rumors suggest Amazon is preparing to lay off around 30,000 employees, in what would be its largest round of cuts since 2022. Warehouse and delivery workers appear safe — the focus is on office jobs. The company currently employs 1.55 million people, of whom 350,000 work in offices. Mass layoffs are not unusual among large U.S. tech firms, but such a move would certainly add pressure to already-fragile U.S. employment data. Amazon’s stock rose 1.2% yesterday but is up only 3.5% year-to-date.

Did you know…

that amazon is the second-largest private employer in the United States? Of its 1.55 million global employees, 1.1 million are based in the U.S. Only Walmart is bigger, with 2.1 million employees worldwide, including 1.6 million in the U.S.

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