Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Market Moves
Nvidia wsj.com delivered record $68 billion in sales for Q4, with net income jumping 35% year-over-year as AI demand remained robust. Salesforce wsj.com maintained stable growth despite Wall Street's AI concerns, though the company projected revenue could fall short of expectations. Snowflake investing.com saw revenue jump 30% on strong cloud and AI demand, while Synopsys investing.com beat estimates and guided in line with expectations. Trade Desk investing.com slid after Q1 revenue outlook missed estimates, and Zoom bloomberg.com fell on earnings miss and weak profit guidance as higher costs pressured margins during its product expansion push.
Tech Sector Dynamics
The AI boom continued driving market sentiment, with Tech stocks finance.yahoo.com rising as Nvidia's guidance signaled the AI cycle remained alive and well. Samsung finance.yahoo.com launched its new Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup with heavy AI integration as Apple works to catch up. Intel finance.yahoo.com partnered with Samba Nova, prompting debate over whether to buy, sell, or hold INTC stock. Apple investing.com saw its App Store growth reaccelerate, according to analysts. Meanwhile, software companies bloomberg.com were expected to survive the AI wave according to Sequoia's Lin, though Brookfield's CDK bloomberg.com posted an 18% earnings drop as software fears grew.
Deal Activity
Engie ft.com agreed to acquire UK Power Networks from CK Infrastructure Holdings in a £10.5 billion deal, marking France's largest electricity distribution acquisition. Blue Scope Steel bloomberg.com called a revised takeover bid from Steel Dynamics and SGH inadequate but remained open to better offers. EG Group ft.com planned to sell 260 French petrol stations to billionaire co-founder Zuber Issa as the business prepared for a US IPO. Coller Capital bloomberg.com agreed to buy $477 million of New Mountain BDC assets to boost financial flexibility. Bolttech Holdings bloomberg.com was in talks to acquire Nasdaq-listed Money Hero, combining two fintech firms backed by billionaire Richard Li.
Capital Markets
The US corporate bond market reached its most competitive conditions on record, with strong demand spurring more secondary market trading, according to Barclays. JPMorgan bloomberg.com and Bank of America strategists favored Venezuelan bonds with large piles of unpaid interest, betting they could outperform ahead of potential debt restructuring. Allianz SE bloomberg.com planned to buy back up to €2.5 billion in shares as CEO Oliver Baete returned excess cash to investors. The US Supreme Court's striking down of Trump's tariffs created uncertainty around refund litigation, with businesses facing more legal battles to recover duties.
Data Center & Infrastructure
US data center construction fell for the first time since 2020 despite soaring AI computing demand, as developers faced delays in permitting, zoning, and power connections. Amazon investing.com made a $12 billion Louisiana data center bet amid the sector's challenges. Data center deals bloomberg.com were projected to top $100 billion as AI infrastructure demand required more than $3 trillion in investment. However, US data center construction bloomberg.com declined amid permit and power delays, highlighting infrastructure bottlenecks.
Energy & Commodities
Saudi Arabia and Iran bloomberg.com accelerated oil exports, adding barrels to global markets at a time when the US deployed military assets in the Middle East. Emirates Global Aluminium bloomberg.com boosted shipments to the US despite stiff tariffs as growing shortages drove American prices higher. Thailand's rice exports bloomberg.com were set to drop to a five-year low as a surge in the local currency dented competitiveness. CME ft.com halted trading on its flagship metals market for over an hour due to technical issues.
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
GSK Plc bloomberg.com agreed to buy 35Pharma Inc. for $950 million to secure an early-stage drug for pulmonary hypertension and boost its pipeline of experimental therapies. Fresenius SE investing.com shares dropped 3% as 2026 profit outlook missed estimates. Large cap pharma investing.com was identified as a defensive AI winner by RBC, which backed Eli Lilly and Abb Vie. Breeze Bio finance.yahoo.com raised $60 million to develop more precise genetic medicines.
Emerging Markets & Global Finance
The UAE was set to be removed from JPMorgan's emerging-market bond indexes by June after exceeding wealth measures for three consecutive years. China stocks in Hong Kong bloomberg.com jumped as the US court struck down tariffs, putting China among countries set to face lower duties on US shipments. Global funds bloomberg.com beat local buyers of Indian stocks after 17 months as foreign inflows surged following signs of improving earnings momentum. Qatar's oldest private lender bloomberg.com readied an Additional Tier 1 bond deal as sales boomed in the Middle East.
Market Sentiment & Valuations
High valuations were concerning according to Robert Kindler, one of the top M&A dealmakers in the US. Goldman Sachs' Ben Snider bloomberg.com said economic acceleration offset AI jitters as the clearest tailwind for markets. Morgan Stanley Investment Management bloomberg.com hunted for AI-proof assets, adding to emerging-market bets insulated from the artificial intelligence boom. Tikehau Capital's Mathieu Chabran bloomberg.com weighed in on mounting private credit fears as warnings of rising defaults and AI-driven disruption rattled investors.
Regulatory & Policy Developments
The US Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs under the IEEPA illegal but remained silent on refunds, likely sending the issue back to the Court of International Trade. Hong Kong bloomberg.com hiked stamp duty for luxury home transactions following a recent flurry of activity in the market. Switzerland ft.com agreed to pay Crans-Montana nightclub fire victims $56,000 in one-off payments. The UK government's move to allow crypto products in ISAs from April was at risk of being a "damp squib" according to experts.