Before the bell: markets get fresh oxygen, Brussels stays in the lead

KBC, UCB and AB InBev gain nearly 2% or more. Donald Trump contributes to a more positive mood and cuts tariffs on India.

The sharp correction in precious metals already came to a halt on Monday. For some reason, Friday’s sell-off also made equity investors nervous. But as the hours passed, European and US stock markets found fresh oxygen. Industrial indicators in both Europe and the US improved in January. The jump in the US ISM index in particular surprised on the upside, rising from 47.5 points (fairly deep contraction) to 52.6 points (a return to growth). With a gain of more than 1% for the European Stoxx 600 index, European markets benefited the most. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both settled for gains of around half a percent.

The Bel20 continues to run at the front of the pack at record levels. Yesterday’s 1.4% sprint brings its one-month gain to an impressive 7.5%. KBC rose 2.9%, Syensqo 2.8%, D’Ieteren 2.4% and UCB 2%. Ageas (+1.8%) and AB InBev (+1.7%) also performed well. On Wall Street there was still little momentum in Nvidia (-2.9%), Microsoft (-1.6%) and Chevron (-1.6%). Palantir reported strong results and jumped 9% after hours. As the risk of military escalation with Iran is now seen as lower, oil and natural gas prices fell sharply. Trump added to the positive mood by cutting import tariffs on India from 50% to 18%. Walt Disney (-7.4%) posted a strong increase in streaming profits (+72%), but the group’s operating profit rose by only 1% due to lower visitor numbers at its theme parks.

In Asia, markets are erasing Monday’s sharp losses. South Korea’s Kospi is up 6.8%, helped by Samsung (+11%). In Japan, the Nikkei and Topix are jumping 4% and 3.1% respectively. Hong Kong is up 1%. The annual results published this morning by student housing leader Xior came in slightly better than expected, with recurring earnings of 2.22 euro per share. Also reporting today are AkzoNobel and Mondelez, and across the Atlantic AMD, Amgen, Super Micro Computer, PepsiCo and Pfizer.

Theme parks spoil the streaming party

Walt Disney (-7.4%) reported a strong increase in streaming profits from platforms such as Disney+ and Hulu in the first quarter of its financial year (which runs until the end of September). Despite the impressive 72% rise in streaming profit to 450 million dollar, the group’s operating profit increased by barely 1% to 3.7 billion dollar. The theme parks in the US, which are crucial for results, are suffering from lower visitor numbers, “because fewer foreign tourists are travelling to the US,” according to Disney. Bob Iger, who returned as CEO on an interim basis, is expected to step down earlier than planned, The Wall Street Journal reports. His successor is expected to be announced next week.

Xior aims again for higher earnings per share

The annual results from student housing leader Xior came in slightly better than expected, with recurring earnings of 2.22 euro per share. It is the third year in a row that earnings per share have remained at the same level. Absolute profits did rise, but a capital increase added new shares to the total. The debt ratio stood at 49.9% at the end of 2025. That level has been on the high side for years, although anything below 50% is considered acceptable. The constant effort to prevent debt from rising further makes growth more difficult, even though the portfolio still expanded by 200 million euro over the past year to 3.5 billion euro. For this year, CEO Christian Teunissen promises earnings per share of 2.30 euro (+4%) and 2.40 euro (+4%) for 2027.

Did you know…

that Amazon invested a record 75 million dollar in a documentary? It focuses on Melania, the US First Lady. For Jeff Bezos it is pocket change, buying him some goodwill with Trump, but it has also drawn criticism from both the press and the public.