Before the bell: Europe is lagging behind

Hong Kong kicks off the day in the green. The S&P 500 and bitcoin hit new record highs, and airline stocks are soaring.

Yesterday, Belgium’s Bel20 rose 0.9%, led by Argenx (+4.4%), Sofina (+3.9%) and Melexis (+3.3%). By contrast, the average European stock only gained 0.1%. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, voiced concerns about Europe, saying the continent urgently needs to step up its game. The United States, he argued, boasts many large, successful multinationals—something Europe once had but now lacks. François Bayrou, the French Prime Minister, echoed this sentiment in a TV interview, saying he hopes the European Central Bank will boost growth in Europe. When asked whether the ECB should cut interest rates, he answered with an unequivocal “yes.” In the United States, the Nasdaq rose 0.1%, and the S&P 500 hit another record with a 0.3% gain. Bitcoin is also at an all-time high, trading at 113,000 dollar per coin. 

This morning in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 1.6%, and Japan’s Topix rises 0.6%. Macro and corporate news remain light. In Belgium, Aedifica shareholders are meeting for an extraordinary general assembly regarding the exchange offer for Cofinimmo.

Delta Air Lines raises its outlook

When Donald Trump’s trade war reignited in April, Delta Air Lines was forced to downgrade its full-year expectations due to uncertainty over consumer behavior and tariff impacts. On Thursday, the airline reported second-quarter results that exceeded expectations: earnings per share came in at 2.10 dollar, above analysts’ forecast of 2.06 dollar. With demand stabilizing, Delta is raising its full-year outlook. Investors welcomed the news, sending the stock 12% higher. Peer airlines also soared: United Airlines jumped 14.3%, while Southwest Airlines gained 8.1%. For the current quarter, Delta expects earnings per share between 5.25 and 6.25 dollar, compared to analysts’ average estimate of 5.38 dollar.

Tariffs, tariffs, and discounts

Investors remain calm despite President Trump firing new tariff threats at the United States’ biggest trade partners. The latest: a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, effective August 1. But it’s not just countries feeling the pressure—corporations are also being squeezed. Oracle recently revealed it offered the US government a 75% discount on various software contracts. Now, Alphabet is following suit, offering markdowns on cloud services. Similar concessions are expected soon from Microsoft and Amazon. Fortunately, these tend to be temporary discounts on large-scale deals. Altogether, the US government spends over 20 billion dollar per year on cloud services.

Did you know…

that yesterday in Paris, Sotheby’s auctioned off the original Hermès Birkin bag for 8.6 million dollar? The bag, made 40 years ago for actress Jane Birkin, has now been acquired by a Japanese collector.

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