Before the bell: UCB makes another acquisition

Hong Kong’s stock market rises 1.7%, oil prices remain above 100 dollar, and chip stocks are popular in the United States.

The Strait of Hormuz should normally have been fully reopened for two weeks by now. Yet when looking at oil prices, there is little sign of that. Traders are once again paying more than 100 dollar for a barrel of crude oil. European equity markets lost ground last week, while US indices edged slightly higher. Notable stocks in Europe included Adidas, which rose 8.2% over five days following strong results. Universal Music Group and Stellantis fell by 10.7% and 9.2% respectively over the week after disappointing results. On Friday, Dutch consultancy Arcadis surged 18% after announcing that its order book had increased by 1.1 billion euro, a rise of 7.3% compared to the same period a year earlier. In the United States, chipmakers NXP Semiconductors (+20.3%) and Intel (+14.5%) posted strong gains.

This morning in Asia, Japan’s Topix is flat, while the Hang Seng Index rises 1.7%. Xiaomi (+8.8%) and Alibaba (+5.6%) are pushing the index higher. In Belgium, Bois Sauvage and UCB trade ex-dividend today. UCB also announced yesterday the acquisition of Candid Therapeutics, a company focused on immunology research. It is already the third acquisition in a short period for UCB. This time, the pharmaceutical group is paying 2 billion dollar, potentially rising to 2.2 billion dollar if certain milestones are met. In the US, results are expected today from Norwegian Cruise Line, Palantir, Tyson Foods, Transocean, Pinterest and Duolingo.

In the lift

In 2020, Thyssenkrupp sold its elevator division to private equity firms Advent International and Cinven, valuing the business at 17.2 billion euro. The German group retained a 16.2% stake. Since then, the private equity investors have explored a stock market listing for the newly formed TK Elevator. However, before any IPO could take place, competitor Kone approached TKE last week. Kone is seeking a merger that would create the world’s largest elevator manufacturer and is offering 29.3 billion euro. Shareholders of Thyssenkrupp benefited, sending the stock 13.7% higher over the week.

Super investor present

This weekend saw the annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway take place. The event once again attracted large numbers of investors to Omaha. Attendees were unsure what to expect—would Warren Buffett address the crowd? He did, praising his successor Greg Abel and thanking Tim Cook, who was also present, for his leadership. Despite gradually reducing its position in Apple, it remains one of Berkshire’s largest holdings. The conglomerate is also sitting on a substantial cash pile, now approaching 400 billion dollar. According to Abel and Buffett, it is not yet the right time to deploy that capital. In an interview with CNBC, Buffett stated that the current environment is not ideal for investing. Patience is required.

Did you know…

that the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is achieving remarkable success in marathons? Athletes wearing the Adidas shoe are approaching the two-hour barrier. Weighing just 97 grams, it is gaining popularity thanks to its performance.

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