Before the bell: fiery talks in London

Apple fails to impress, while Ageas and Melexis kick off the week strongly. D’Ieteren and What’s Cooking? hand out dividends.

Delegations from Washington and Beijing met in London yesterday to discuss a possible trade agreement. No deal has been reached yet. An agreement is vital not only for the US and China, but also for Europe, as export restrictions on rare earth elements are beginning to threaten the smooth production of electric vehicles in the region. China is playing hardball, demanding access to ASML’s top chipmaking machines (+1.9%). These talks are likely to take time. Wall Street remained mostly flat on Monday, although the Nasdaq gained 0.3%. Tesla recovered part of last week’s losses (+4.6%). Warner Bros. Discovery dropped 3% after revealing more details about its planned split into a television company and a streaming/content production unit (HBO Max). Apple fell 1.2% on the first day of its developers conference, failing to generate excitement. On the other hand, Qualcomm rose 4.1% after announcing the acquisition of a smaller British peer for 2.4 billion dollar. Across European stock markets, gains and losses balanced out. On the Brussels stock exchange, Ageas was the standout performer (+3.2%), followed by Melexis (+2.2%) and several real estate investment trusts.

This morning, Tokyo and Hong Kong markets are both up 0.4%. In Liège, Hyloris is holding its shareholder meeting. Investors who accepted Marc Coucke’s offer on Smartphoto will see their cash arrive in their account today. Those who missed the deadline can still tender their shares. Meanwhile, D’Ieteren and What’s Cooking? shareholders will also receive payouts, as dividend coupons are clipped today.

Unified uranium rally

It was a good day for investors holding uranium stocks. Cameco, the Canadian miner, jumped 10.7% after a strong update from Westinghouse Electric, in which Cameco holds a 49% stake. Westinghouse, which supplies and services nuclear reactors, announced that its 2025 earnings will be significantly higher than in 2024. The upside for Cameco’s stake alone is estimated at 170 million dollar. Yellow Cake (+5.7%), a familiar name for readers of Spaarvarkens, also benefitted from the uranium sector’s renewed optimism.

What’s Cooking?

The food group formerly known as Ter Beke and now called What’s Cooking? recently sold off its processed meats division and is paying not one, but two dividends. Both coupons are being clipped today. As a result, the share price is expected to drop — theoretically by 10 euro, though in practice the decline may be milder, since some investors remain unaware of the dividend impact. A savvy trader might profit from this dip, but we are not buying. It’s a great company and an essential supplier for anyone who enjoys pizza or lasagna from the supermarket. However, in the smaller-cap space, we look for stocks that can double in value over five years — and we doubt What’s Cooking? fits that bill. The recent rally has been steep, rising from 56.4 euro in February last year to 134 euro yesterday. Such a strong price increase, combined with a generous dividend, suggests that a takeover bid or stock market exit is unlikely.

Did you know…

that Walt Disney announced yesterday that it will pay an additional and final 438.7 million dollar to NBCUniversal for streaming platform Hulu? With that payment, Disney acquires full ownership of Hulu, which will be integrated into the Disney+ streaming service.

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