As every Sunday, the most important news from the past week, as well as the most important dates for the coming week.
Also as a video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/uWLmaUmA94I?si=Nvgan1ND1bTBDfNJ
Sunday:
Joe Biden resigns and names Kamala Harris as possible successor. Trump has already made a statement. We are curious to see what the markets will do tomorrow. The election campaign in the US seems to be starting all over again.
Monday:
The battery manufacturer $VAR1 (-0.72%) Varta is restructuring at the expense of its shareholders. In addition, Porsche and Michael Tojner secure pre-emptive rights for the issue of new shares. As a result of the StaRUG proceedings, small shareholders at Varta in particular are left empty-handed.
https://www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/kommentare/varta-gau-fuer-kleinaktionaere/100054586.html
Tuesday:
$P911 (+0.6%) Porsche corrects its forecast. Turnover is expected to be lower than planned and the margin is also likely to fall. This is probably due to flooding at a European supplier.
Also $ST5 (+0.91%) Steico also fell significantly. Although turnover and profit increased, the share price fell. The reason is a cautious outlook.
Wednesday:
Profit at $TSLA (+6.49%) Tesla falls for the second quarter in a row, Tesla has clearly missed expectations with its figures. Car sales fell by seven percent to 19.9 billion USD. Total sales increased slightly thanks to the strong storage business.
$RHM (+2.51%) Rheinmetall doubled its profit and was even able to exceed expectations. The armaments group is benefiting from numerous orders from the German armed forces. Sales increased by 49% to 2.2 billion euros in the second quarter. Profit doubled to 271 million euros. Rheinmetall is undoubtedly one of the winners of the Ukraine war.
The Purchasing Managers' Index for Germany 🇩🇪 and the USA are disappointing. The value for Germany fell below 50, and the same applies to industry in the USA. The index thus signals a recession. In the USA, at least the service sector remains above the 50 mark.
https://finanzmarktwelt.de/einkaufsmangerindex-juli-316954/?amp
Thursday:
Yesterday, the building materials group $STO3 (+4.43%) Sto reported disappointing figures. Earnings will probably be halved and the targets for 2024 and 2027 have been canceled.
There was also weak news from the automotive industry. $7201 (+3.28%) Nissan's profit collapses by 99%. Opel parent company Stellantnis reports a 40% drop in profits.
Things are also going badly in the luxury goods industry. Gucci's sales shrank by 19%, putting pressure on the profits of its parent company $KER (+2.91%) Kering.
Even consumer goods giant $NESN (-0.89%) Nestlé disappointed with a lowered forecast. Turnover fell by 2.7%, partly due to currency effects.
Even in Poland 🇵🇱, which is otherwise economically spoiled, the supermarket chain $DNP (+6.61%) Dino Polska has to report poor figures. Among other things, profits fell by 28% compared to the previous year.
The situation was different in the pharmaceutical sector. $SAN (+1.12%) Sanofi exceeded analysts' expectations in terms of profit and was able to increase its turnover by 8 %. Also $AZN (-0.35%) Astrazeneca also raised its annual targets. Sales increased by 15 %. However, profits fell slightly due to exchange rate effects.
Good economic data from the USA 🇺🇸. GDP growth in the second quarter was probably significantly stronger than expected (2.8 % annualized, expected: 2.0 %). In addition, inflation is unlikely to exceed expectations.
Friday:
$MBG (-2.54%) Mercedes is able to slightly improve its return on sales again. In addition, there was no profit warning, which many had expected.
BASF $BAS (+2.29%) BASF does not have to lower its forecast, but continues to struggle with rather weak figures. Sales fell by 7%, while adjusted profits of 2 billion euros in the second quarter were roughly at the previous year's level.
Inflation in Japan 🇯🇵 was above expectations. Real interest rate hikes may still have to be made there after all. However, even the price increases for core consumer prices in the capital Tokyo are barely above the BoJ's 2% target.
The German pharmaceutical group $MRK (+0.24%) Merck also delivered strong figures and raised its forecast slightly. Instead of sales of 20.6 - 22.1 billion euros, the range was raised to 20.7 - 22.1 billion euros. Sales stagnated in the second quarter. The reason for the forecast increase is good figures for the cancer drug Xevinapant.
Most important dates in the coming week:
Tuesday: 14:00 Inflation data (Germany)
Wednesday: 05:00 Interest rate decision (BoJ)
Thursday: 13:00 Interest rate decision (BoE)