Stocks, News, Data & Earnings | Wilnesh News

Ludovic Sublan, chief economist at Allianz, said the current economic soft landing was the calm before the storm.

Retail group H&M continued to lead gains in early trading, with analysts praising its first-quarter operating profit and gross profit margin for a significant increase of 13%.

“We believe H&M has taken various steps to improve its omni-channel service to customers, which should allow it to establish itself broadly in key markets. But we believe H&M is largely in a ‘sales-for-profits’ position model, which resulted in improved margins but some volume pressure,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Richard Chamberlain said in a note.

“As a result, we think it may have to reinvest purchase proceeds at some point to drive sales, as it appears to be losing some (like-for-like) share in key markets.”

Distribution group Diploma also posted strong growth, with shares rising 11% after announcing a £236 million ($298 million) acquisition of US company Peerless Aerospace Fastener.

British Packaging Company DS Smith Meanwhile, the company confirmed it was discussing a possible sale to U.S.-listed International Paper, sending its shares up 9%.

—Jenny Reed

The Swedish krona edged lower against the euro and dollar after the Riksbank kept its key interest rate at 4%.

Euro-krona traded close to 11.5 for the first time since November 2023 before giving up gains, while the dollar rose 0.06% to 10.59.

“The dovish statements and lowered forecasts suggest the door remains open for a rate cut in May,” Conotoxia market analyst Bartosz Sawicki said in a note.

“Exactly two years after the start of the tightening cycle, the Riksbank is clearly laying the groundwork for upcoming easing as price pressures are rapidly fading in a recession-hit economy.”

—Jenny Reed

French Renault explain It will sell up to 2.5% of Nissan shares to the Japanese carmaker as part of a broader strategy to restore the group’s investment grade rating.

The deal could generate cash inflows of up to 362 million euros ($392 million).

Renault added that the share sale would result in a capital loss on disposal of the group’s accounts of up to 450 million euros, while generating a gain of up to 50 million euros for the listed entities.

Nissan said it would fund its share purchase with cash, noting the decision was part of its strategy to “enhance shareholder returns and capital efficiency.”

The two automakers restructured their decades-old alliance early last year, with Renault reducing its stake in Nissan to 15% from around 43% at the time and increasing its stake in the Japanese automaker. 28.4% of the shares were transferred to a French trust.

— Ruksandra Jordash

Sweden’s Riksbank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, with observers keeping a close eye on which central bank will follow Switzerland’s lead in easing monetary policy amid easing inflation.

Decide Keep Riksbank key interest rate at 4%the bank’s executive board noted that “if the inflation outlook remains favorable, the policy rate may be lowered in May or June.”

Taking into account “changes in pricing behavior in the corporate sector” and the sharp rise in consumer prices in recent years, the committee emphasized that it was seeking “further confirmation that inflation will stabilize close to target levels.”

Last week, the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly lowered its main policy interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5%. The central banks of Norway and England, which also released interest rate decisions on Thursday, refused to blink and kept interest rates unchanged.

— Ruksandra Jordash

European stocks opened weakly on Wednesday, with limited moves continuing this week.

this Stoke 600 The London index was flat at 8:15 a.m., with major exchanges also nearing the flat line, and UK stocks FTSE 100 The index fell 0.15%.

—Jenny Reed

Swedish Fashion Group H&M First-quarter net sales reported on Wednesday were 53.7 billion Swedish kronor ($5.069 billion), down year-on-year, while operating profit rose more than expected to 2.08 billion Swedish kronor.

The company’s operating margin rose to 3.9% from 1.3%.

H&M’s board of directors will propose a dividend of 6.5 crowns per share at its annual shareholder meeting in May and seek authorization to buy back B shares.

Daniel Ervér, CEO of H&M Group, said: “The development in the first quarter continues to move in the right direction, with improved gross profit margin and operating profit, reduced inventory and strong cash flow.” Helena Helmerson.

H&M under pressure as competition from Zara parent intensifies Index and Chinese fast fashion retailers such as Shein, and announced a focus on profitability rather than sales.

Large US tech companies, e.g. Nvidia, Microsoft and letter Benefit from the boom in artificial intelligence in the market over the past year.

But many smaller companies in the global AI supply chain will also benefit.

Bank of America said in a March 15 report that the artificial intelligence market has “boomed” since the second half of 2023, with a variety of artificial intelligence solutions.

The bank lists the various parts of the supply chain expected to benefit from artificial intelligence, along with the top stocks in each category.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

As markets continue to be volatile due to economic uncertainty, many investors are taking a longer-term view and looking to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to allocate their portfolios.

CNBC Pro asked several financial experts about their top ETFs to buy and hold this year. Subscribers can read more about ETF selection here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are set to open flat on Wednesday.

British FTSE 100 German stocks are expected to open 2 points lower at 7,930 German DAX Index France up 2 points to 18,400 CAC 1 point lower than Italy at 8,183 FTSE MIB It fell 12 points to 34,135, according to IG data.

Data released include March inflation data from Spain and March consumer confidence data from France. H&M has released its latest three-month update.

— Holly Elliot