Concerns about European banks have subsided yesterday. Calm was also restored in the United States after a reassuring announcement from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The Fed will announce a new interest rate decision tonight. In the meantime, Wall Street will remain in place. GameStop, on the other hand, shoots higher after the publication of the quarterly results.
2.39pm – GameStop shoots up 35 percent
After the publication of its quarterly results, the game retailer GameStop shoots up 35 percent (see message from 1.18 pm). Before the stock market there was still talk of a price increase of no less than 50 percent.
2:38 PM – Little movement on Wall Street after opening bell sounds
The Dow Jones plunged 0.1 percent after almost ten minutes of trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq continue to hover.
13.18 – GameStop makes a profit with a strong price increase as a result
‘Meme Share’ GameStop, which made its name as a weapon against institutional short sellers, posted net profit of $48.2 million last quarter.
- In the same period last year, it posted a loss of $147.5 million. The share price rises by almost 50 percent premarket.
- GameStop said it will continue to focus on efficiency, profitability and “pragmatic growth”.
12.43 – Chairman of the German central bank: “Interest rates must continue to rise”
Joachim Nagel, president of the Bundesbank, says in an interview with Financial Times that the ECB should not be deterred by the banking crisis from raising interest rates.
- Our fight against inflation is not over yet. “There is no doubt that price pressure is strong and widespread. If we want to contain this stubborn inflation, we will have to be even more stubborn.”
- The ECB already decided last week to follow up on the sharp interest rate hikes. Then interest rates were raised by 50 basis points.
12.31 – Find out everything about the deal between Virya Energy and JERA Green
12.17 – Bel20 continues to kick on the spot
The Eurostoxx50 gains 0.45 percent, while the Bel20 remains in place.
- Colruyt is up 13.6 percent after the news that Virya Energy, in which Colruyt has an interest of 59.9 percent, is selling Parkwind to JERA Green.
- Telenet is down 0.55 percent after the sharp price increase (+50 percent) yesterday. Then it came to light that the American telecom group Liberty Global wants to fully incorporate Telenet.
11.19 – UK inflation is climbing again after three consecutive falls
UK inflation rose by 10.4 percent (annualized) last month, up from 10.1 percent in January.
- Economists had expected a further weakening. They had predicted a currency depreciation of 9.9 percent.
- Prices rose by 1.1 percent on a monthly basis. That was a drop of 0.6 percent a month earlier. Economists expected an increase of 0.7 percent for February.
11.07 – ING does not expect Liberty Global to increase its bid for Telenet
There has been a lot going on in the Belgian stock exchange landscape in recent days. Today Colruyt draws all the attention, and yesterday Telenet was in the spotlight. The telecom company then won about 50 percent after a takeover bid from Liberty Global. The American company is willing to pay 22 euros per share.
- ING speaks of a fair price. Analyst David Vagman, who raised his price target from 17 to 21 euros this morning with an unchanged “hold rating”, notes that the offer does not come as a surprise. He does not expect a higher offer.
- Vagman does point to some dissatisfied shareholders who have become frustrated with the share’s weak performance, the communication surrounding the expensive Fluvius deal and the dividend cuts. However, it remains to be seen whether they will do anything.
Telenet is down 0.75 percent today.
11.00 – Sale of Parkwind gives Colruyt wings
After trading for about two hours, Colruyt is up 14.25 percent. The substantial price gain comes after the news that Virya Energy, in which Colruyt has a 59.9 percent interest, is selling Parkwind to JERA Green (see message of 9.34 am).
10.49 – Colruyt price target raised by Degroof Petercam
As a result of the sale of Parkwind (see message of 9.34 am) Degroof Petercam has increased Colruyt’s price target.
- The price target was adjusted from EUR 25.00 to EUR 27.00 while maintaining the Hold advice.
- Degroof already took such a transaction into account. However, the sales price is higher than the 1.2 billion euros that analyst Fernand de Boer had counted on. As a result, the price target could go up. Degroof is aiming for a book profit of 500 million euros.
- The Colruyt share shot up 14 percent this morning to 28.09 euros.
09.34 – Colruyt sees Parkwind being sold for at least 1.5 billion euros
Virya Energy sells Parkwind to JERA Green. Colruyt, which has an interest of 59.9 percent in Virya, announced this this morning.
- Closing of the transaction is expected later this year and is subject to the approval of the relevant competition and other administrative authorities.
- Parkwind was founded in 2012 and is the largest offshore wind energy platform in Belgium. Parkwind participates in four operational wind farms located off the Belgian coast in the North Sea, but also in foreign wind farms.
09.11 – Bel20 opens red
After a strong trading day yesterday, in which the Brussels star index gained one and a half percent, the Bel20 plunged almost half a percent after the opening bell.
- Sofina is the only stock to open with a profit.
- Larger losses at WDP and Cofinimmo. The other losses are limited to 1 percent.
08.14 – Fed expectations make investor look back at gold
Gold fell about $50 in the past two days. But investors expect the Fed’s interest rate decision to benefit the price over the long term.
- MKS Pamp’s Nicky Shiels said that “the Fed will have to choose between higher inflation or recession/financial instability. Both outcomes are positive for gold.”
- Peter Schiff also agrees:
06:39 – Wall Street closed in the green
The ebbing of banking worries led to rising prices on Wall Street.
- Of Dow Jones won nearly 1 percent, to 32,560 points.
- Of S&P500 won 1.3 percent and jumps above the 4,000 point mark again, to more than 4,002 points.
- Of Nasdaq won 1.6 percent and finished at 11,660 points.
First Republic Bank was able to hold onto most of its price gains, thanks to Janet Yellen, who said she was willing to further expand protection for US savings deposits.
On the agenda: What is Jerome Powell doing with US interest rates tonight? Investors seem to be expecting a 25 basis point increase. Read more about it here.
A look back at yesterday? Read the overview here
