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Markets were on their toes due to the pandemic - Weekly Review, October 26 – 30

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Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
02 November 2020
The earnings reports didn’t manage to make markets gain momentum

Monday: The significant number of COVID-19 infections caused the global markets to close the trading session in the red. TECH100 and USA500 lost 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively. USA30 was down 2.3%.

Germany30 closed 2% after it had announced new restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.

Blackstone Group Inc struck a $1.2 billion deal with Brookfield Asset Management to buy Simply Self Storage. Blackstone’s stock price lost 0.24% after the news.

SAP, the German software group closed 21% lower after posting lower-than-expected Q3 figures. In the quarter, the company reported revenues of €6.54 billion. The numbers are below the €6.89 forecasted.

After a few weeks of halted trials, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson announced that they were ready to resume the work on their potential COVID-19 vaccines. Both companies had reported volunteers who got unexpectedly sick during trials. Following the news, JnJ stock price traded 0.03% lower, while AstraZeneca opened 0.87% higher.

Tuesday: Australia200 reached a one-month low after it closed 1.7% lower amid the rising number of COVID-19 infections.

After falling 1.6%, France40 marked its worst session in a month.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA are one step away from getting the approval to complete the $38 billion merger. The two carmakers will be working under the name Stellantis. After the news, FCA went up 0.61%, while PSA lost over 1%.

Pfizer reported revenues of $12.13 billion in Q3, with an EPS of 0.72 cents. Currently, the company is waiting to get clearance for its potential COVID-19 vaccine that’s developing with BioNTech.

Wednesday: UK100 reached its lowest level since April 3 after it fell 2.6%.

Crude and Brent Oil each lost 5% and closed the day at $37.39 a barrel, and $39.12, respectively.

The tech behemoth Microsoft had an EPS of $1.82 with $37.2 billion revenue, ahead of the $1.55 a share, and $35.76 billion consensus. However, the good results didn’t impress the markets. The company’s stock price fell 1.8%.

3M had Q3 figures that came higher-than-expected. The actual revenue of $8.35 billion topped the $8.32 billion forecasted. The EPS came in also above expectations at $2.43. Following the news, the company’s stock price lost 1.5%.

UPS stock price lost over 1% even though it had Q3 figures that came above the consensus.  The revenue increased from last year’s $18.32 billion to $21.24 billion. The EPS was $2.24, topping the $2.01 expected.

Thursday: The image sharing and social media service Pinterest reported Q3 figures that impressed Wall Street. The company revenue went up 58% to $443 million in the past quarter, above the $383.5 million expected. After the news hit the wire, its stock price gained almost 32%.

Samsung had in Q3 an operating profit of $10.89 billion, 59% higher than the one reported a year before. The company also had in Q3 2020 the highest-ever revenue, the numbers coming in at $59 billion. Still, Samsung stock price closed 1.53% lower after the news.

The American GDP expanded 33.1% in Q3, recovering from Q2’s drop of 31.4%. The country’s unemployment claims came in lower than forecast for the second consecutive week, dropping at 751,000.

In Europe, the Central Bank announced that it would keep the interest rates and monetary policy unchanged. However, a new stimulus package is expected in the Eurozone in December.

Friday: Even though iPhone 12 sales didn’t provide too much steam to the overall revenues, Apple still managed to post stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The overall revenue came in at $64.70 billion, with an EPS of $0.71. However, following the announcement, its stock price fell 3.5%.

Twitter had revenues of $936 million, 14% higher than those reported in the same quarter last year. User-wise, the social media network reported a total of 187 million average monthly people. After the report, its stock price lost almost 15%.

Alphabet’s stock price gained 9% after it posted revenues of $46.17 billion, with an EPS of $16.40.

Read all about it and even more on CAPEX.com!

Sources: investing.com, finance.yahoo.com, reuters.com

This information/research prepared by Miguel A. Rodriguez does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any particular person. The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this research report, in part or in whole, certifies that the views about the companies and their securities expressed in this report accurately reflect his/her personal views and consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk.The research provided does not constitute the views of KW Investments Ltd nor is it an invitation to invest with KW Investments Ltd. The research analyst also certifies that no part of his/her compensation was, is, or will be, directly, or indirectly, related to specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.The research analyst in not employed by KW Investments Ltd. You are encouraged to seek advice from an independent financial adviser regarding the suitability of the investment, under a separate engagement, as you deem fit that conforms to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular financial needs before making a commitment to invest. The laws of the Republic of Seychelles shall govern any claim relating to or arising from the contents of the information/ research provided. 

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Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
Financial Writer

Miguel worked for major financial institutions such as Banco Santander, and Banco Central-Hispano. He is a published author of currency trading books.