Before the bell: Earnings Season Sparks Market Movers

China’s economy grew by 5.4% in Q1, Barco reports 8% revenue growth, and both ASML and Heineken released results this morning.

On Wall Street, indices closed nearly flat compared to Monday night. Citigroup (+1.8%) and Bank of America (+3.6%) were rewarded for solid quarterly results. Supermarket chain Albertsons also beat expectations but still dropped 7.6%. Netflix gained 4.8% ahead of its earnings report, scheduled for release after Thursday’s close. In Europe, the average stock rose 1.2% yesterday. LVMH swam against the tide, falling 7.8% after disappointing quarterly numbers. TomTom jumped 24.1% after slightly better-than-expected results, though shareholders are still down 27.2% year-on-year. Chipmakers ASM International (+5.8%) and BE Semiconductor (+13.3%) were big winners on Euronext Amsterdam. Fugro, on the other hand, tumbled 14.8% after a profit warning. The Bel20 index rose 1.5%. In Brussels, logistics property owners had a strong day—Montea rose 3.7%, and WDP climbed 4.9%. Outside the index, student housing provider Xior gained 3.6%.

In Asia, markets are in the red this morning. Japan’s Topix is down 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has fallen 2.4%. This comes despite stronger-than-expected growth in China: the economy expanded 5.4% in Q1, matching last quarter’s performance. This morning, ASML and Heineken reported results. ASML nearly doubled its net profit in a strong quarter but fell short on new orders. Heineken saw revenue fall 5%. Meanwhile, Proximus shareholders are holding their general meeting. In the U.S., investors are looking forward to earnings from Abbott, Travelers, and Alcoa.

Mixed Signals from Veldhoven

ASML reported a significant jump in Q1 revenue this morning. The Dutch maker of advanced chipmaking machines generated 7.7 billion euro in revenue, up from 5.3 billion euro a year ago. Net profit nearly doubled to 2.36 billion euro. The outlook, however, was mixed. While management maintained its full-year forecast, Q1 bookings fell short—just under 4 billion euro in new orders, compared to analyst expectations of nearly 5 billion. Meanwhile, on the chip developer side, Nvidia is feeling the pinch from the U.S.-China trade war. Late yesterday, the company said it expects 5.5 billion dollar less in revenue this quarter—an 11.6% downgrade from previous guidance. Nvidia will release its official results on May 28. The stock already dropped 6.3% in after-hours trading.

Barco Bounces Back

Like the Nasdaq, the Belgian market has its fair share of tech companies—but unlike its American counterpart, the sector hasn’t delivered strong returns lately. At Spaarvarkens, we’ve been pleased with EVS, but Melexis, X-Fab, and Barco have been underwhelming. That said, Barco, based in Kortrijk, posted 8% revenue growth last quarter to 211.6 million euro. All divisions saw gains, with the Healthcare segment in North and South America performing particularly well. The order book stands at 232 million euro, up 5% year-on-year and better than expected. The company secured two large contracts and will deliver more than 5,000 projectors over the next five years.

Did you know…

that yesterday’s drop in LVMH stock shaved 10.9 billion euro off Bernard Arnault’s net worth? According to Bloomberg, the French billionaire is now worth 133.6 billion euro—down from 169.6 billion euro at the start of the year.

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