Before the bell: gold and memory chips to the moon

Gold benefits from tariff chaos. Will Nvidia continue to surprise? Can Salesforce stage a comeback?

After five consecutive losing weeks, the Nasdaq (+1.5%) finally managed to post a weekly gain again. Unsurprisingly, big tech led the charge. Apple rebounded 6.7% and Amazon gained 5.7%, while Microsoft (-1%) once again failed to keep pace. Much of this week’s attention will focus on Nvidia’s (+3.8%) quarterly and annual results, due Wednesday after the close. At the same time, a whole range of software companies will report earnings, including Intuit, Snowflake, Salesforce and Zscaler. It will be interesting to see whether they can reverse the decline in their share prices. The latest episode in the ongoing tariff saga will also continue to attract attention and provoke reactions. Most likely, the conclusion will be that not much changes in the short term. The common denominator of Donald Trump remains uncertainty, now once again with Iran. Gold (+2% to 5,178 dollar per ounce) benefits, while the dollar suffers. The key question is how long-term interest rates will respond. They have already been falling for a month, providing oxygen for the economy and many equities. In Brussels, WDP benefited over the past month with a sharp rise of 14%, while Montea gained 5.8%.

Tokyo is closed for a public holiday. Most Chinese exchanges reopen tomorrow for the “Year of the Horse,” but Hong Kong is already up nearly 3% today. The new universal US tariff of 15% turns out to be relatively cheaper for China. It will be a busy earnings week in the United States and also in Brussels, where Galapagos and Iep Invest report today. In Amsterdam, PostNL publishes results, and in the US Hims & Hers will likely explain after the close how it plans to move forward following the FDA’s recent reprimand. Later this week, attention will also turn to Ageas and Baidu.

Luxury sector pops the champagne

Italian luxury fashion group Moncler surged 17.1% on Friday after providing an update on the past financial year. Revenue rose 3% and profit exceeded expectations in what was a difficult year for the sector. Investors reacted enthusiastically to management’s comment that the year ended strongly and that improved momentum is continuing this year. LVMH (+4.4%) and Hermès (+3.6%) also benefited. As with many luxury groups, Asia is the most important market for the Italians. Moncler focuses mainly on fashion and high-end jackets. The shares may also benefit from the universal 15% US import tariff, which in some cases is lower than tariffs applied to individual countries.

Memory chips strike and soothe

We will likely hear once again on Wednesday after the close, when Nvidia publishes its new results, just how extreme demand for AI chips has become. Equipping all those data centers also requires massive amounts of memory chips. That has been evident in the results and share price performance of producers such as Samsung (+231% over the past year), SK Hynix (+362%) and US-based Micron (+349%). Demand exceeds supply, and prices have surged. This could make hardware products such as smartphones and computers more expensive or squeeze the margins of their manufacturers. For Samsung, which produces its own memory chips for its smartphones, that is not a problem, but Apple could feel the pressure. Game console makers such as Sony and Nintendo are reportedly even considering delaying new modules.

Did you know…

that Walmart on Thursday reported annual revenue of no less than 713.2 billion dollar? Impressive, but still just short of Amazon’s 716.9 billion dollar, making Amazon the revenue champion.

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