Public Markets 3h Briefing
×European Markets
Ferrovial investing.com shares rose after the construction giant beat quarterly profit forecasts, with a construction surge offsetting weaker road revenues. Indra investing.com shares spiked amid a ballooning order backlog, while Engie investing.com surged following its UK Power Networks deal and new financial targets.
Earnings & Corporate News
Ocado ft.com plans to cut 1,000 jobs and restructure its technology unit, warning that earnings will be hit by the end of a prolonged capital investment period. Baidu wsj.com posted a profit drop as revenue decline continues, while Hikma investing.com shares fell 17% after a margin warning in its 2025 results. Puma investing.com stock jumped as results beat forecasts, and Gerresheimer investing.com tumbled 14% after Ba Fin widened its accounting probe.
Market Sentiment & Strategy
Nvidia investing.com failed to rally after its "largest, cleanest beat" ever, leaving analysts perplexed as AI fears shift to the technology's destabilizing impact. The S&P 500 has been stuck in a range for four months, with investors hedging against potential drops as strategists see a buy signal. WPP wsj.com overhauled its structure and slashed its dividend in a turnaround plan after reporting its worst annual profit drop since the pandemic.
Macro & Policy
The Federal Reserve is flipping mortgage bonds into shorter-term government bills, potentially signaling a new Fed-Treasury accord as the Treasury plans to issue more bills. Abu Dhabi bloomberg.com is set to join the emerging market bond rush with a dollar debt sale, while South Korea's bloomberg.com bull market went into overdrive. The ECB will closely monitor AI-driven job cuts, with President Lagarde vowing an "extremely attentive" approach.
Currency & Trade
Kenya's bloomberg.com shilling defied emerging market volatility, trading in an unusually narrow band against the dollar for 18 months. Ecuador yahoo.com is eyeing a $4 billion bond sale return, while African bloomberg.com countries accelerate efforts to reduce dollar reliance amid volatile US tariff policy. Hong Kong's bloomberg.com luxury home sales are expected to slow after a stamp duty hike before rebounding in the second half.
Energy & Commodities
LPG prices bloomberg.com soared to nearly a one-year high after a Saudi Aramco export terminal outage prompted ships to reroute to the US for supplies. Eni investing.com beat fourth-quarter profit expectations on strong production, while Allianz bloomberg.com CFO said the company will strive for outperformance with a new share buyback program.
Legal & Regulatory
The Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs unleashed a wave of legal challenges, with refund claims soaring after judges ruled against the Trump administration. US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick bloomberg.com made a surprise trip to India after a US tariff setback, meeting his Indian counterpart in New Delhi.