Last week was dominated by economic data, and the ECB also published its interest rate decision.
The start of the trading week
On Monday, Munich Re announced that it was raising its annual forecast. At the beginning of the year, the result was estimated at 4 billion euros, which has now been increased by 500 million euros. The reason for this is the good financial year to date and the good operational developments in all business segments.
On Tuesday, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis published its business figures for the past quarter. Sales rose 12% to $11.78 billion, as did the company’s net profit.
Microsoft makes investors positive
The American technology company published its quarterly figures on Wednesday, and the shares were in high demand. Microsoft’s cloud business was particularly impressive, with sales increasing by almost 24% compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Overall, the group reported sales for the past quarter of $56.5 billion.
On the same day, Boeing gave us a look at the books. Despite increased sales in the past quarter, the company had an operating loss of $1.09 billion. Despite still being in the red, the loss was significantly lower than in the previous year. Supplier problems and the weak defense division led to the disappointing result.
Siemens Energy shares are on the decline, ECB takes a break from interest rates
The company announced on Thursday that it is currently in discussions with the federal government regarding state aid. Investors took the company’s demands for subsidies as a warning signal, and the shares were then sold heavily and lost massively in value.
On the same day, the European Central Bank announced its interest rate decision. As expected, the ECB left interest rates at the previous level, so the main refinancing rate remains at 4.5%.
Mercedes-Benz also disappointed with its quarterly figures; the group was able to report earnings before interest and taxes of 4.8 billion euros, 400 million euros less than in the previous year. The automobile manufacturer cited a shortage of 48-volt batteries as the reason for this. Only the vans, which were in high demand, were convincing; the sales margin there increased. Free cash flow also fell by 700 million euros to 2.3 billion euros.
At the end of the week, the vehicle manufacturer Ford also published its quarterly figures. Electric vehicles in particular are doing poorly, with the company reporting an operating loss of 1.3 billion euros. Overall, an increase in sales of 11% compared to the previous year was achieved.
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Source: HSBC