Stocks, News, Data, Earnings

Shares in Swiss engineering company ABB rose 5.5% in early trading after the company announced a better-than-expected increase in operating profit.

At the other end of the Stoxx 600, British biopharmaceutical company Sartorius Stedim fell 13% after announcing lower first-quarter sales and net profit.

— Karen Gilchrist

Hypnosis Songs Fund, a London-listed music intellectual property investment firm founded in 2018 by Merck Mercuriadis and Nile Rodgers, announced on Thursday that its board of directors has decided to invest in Concord, a music copyright investment firm that valued the company at ¥14. announced that it had recommended selling the company for $1 billion.

Shares in the FTSE 250 were up 31% as of 8:30am UK time on Thursday.

Hypnosis acquired the rights to songs from notable artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mark Ronson, Shakira, Neil Young and Blondie, but was mired in financial reporting issues, resulting in a pre-tax operating loss in 2023. expanded to $86.63 million.

The valuation is equivalent to 0.932 pounds ($1.16) per share, a 32.2% premium to Wednesday’s closing price. Financing for the transaction will be supported by Concord’s partner, US private equity giant Apollo Capital Management.

The companies said in a release that Concord has a “track record of strategic acquisitions and catalog expansion” and that “creators involved in the rights” will benefit from the deal.

It also said achieving “significant improvements in share price” would require “significant financial and governance changes to improve financial performance.”

— Jenny Reid

European stock markets rose cautiously early Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.25% as of 8:13 a.m. London time, with sector trading mixed.

The major stock exchanges rose, with France’s CAC40 index up 0.5%, Britain’s FTSE 100 index up 0.5% and Germany’s DAX index up 0.3%.

The British pound rose against the US dollar and euro on Thursday morning, extending Wednesday’s gains after better-than-expected British inflation data boosted market expectations for interest rate cuts later this year.

As of 7:30 a.m. in London, the pound was up 0.27% against the dollar at $1.248, and against the euro it was up 0.1% at $1.167.

— Jenny Reid

The first quarter earnings season is starting to get into full swing in Europe, with announcements from Swiss engineering firm ABB and telecommunications giant Nokia on Thursday.

ABB reported flat sales of $7.87 billion in the period and operating profit of $1.41 billion, up 11%, beating expectations.

Finland’s Nokia reported a 19% decline in net sales and operating profit that fell short of market expectations, according to Reuters.

— Jenny Reid

Oil futures fell more than 3% on Wednesday as markets discounted the risk that a war between Israel and Iran could escalate and disrupt supplies.

West Texas Intermediate for May delivery fell $2.76, or 3.23%, to $82.60 per barrel. Brent futures for June contract fell $2.87, or 3.19%, to $87.15 per barrel. US crude oil and global benchmarks fell more than 3.5% for the week.

“The theory that tensions between Iran and Israel would disrupt oil supplies is gone,” said Manish Raj, managing director of Velandera Energy Partners. “Peace may be over, but the oil continues to flow,” he said.

— Spencer Kimball

Morgan Stanley and HSBC will cut dozens of jobs in their investment banking divisions in Asia-Pacific this week, Reuters reports.

Reuters, citing sources, said the move comes as both banks step up cost-cutting measures and a slowdown in deal-making and weak markets in China and Hong Kong weigh on business outlook. It is said that there is.

Starting this week, Morgan Stanley will cut at least 50 jobs in its investment banking division in the region, affecting about 13% of its 400 investment banking employees in Asia, the report said.

HSBC reportedly began cutting jobs on Tuesday, with around 30 dealmakers expected to leave the company.

— Lim Huijie

Analysts lowered their expectations for several global stocks this week by lowering their price targets.

The price target change comes ahead of the next earnings season, which covers the first quarter of this year.

CNBC Pro screened global stocks in the MSCI World Index that have had their price targets lowered in the past seven days and have not yet announced earnings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the 10 stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are scheduled to open mixed on Thursday.

According to IG data, the UK’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 17 points higher at 7,872, Germany’s DAX rises 5 points to 17,789, France’s CAC falls 10 points to 7,983 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is expected to decline 8 points to 32,963.

Revenue will come from Nokia, Easyjet and ABB. The data release includes European new car registrations for March.

— Holly Ellyatt