S&P 500's historic rise to 6,000, stock market news from companies and the crisis in Germany

Stock market news

• Prospects of big fiscal spending and further monetary easing in the world's largest economy are creating a potent cocktail, helping global stocks end on a high note after a turbulent week. Wall Street entered Friday at record highs, helping push the MSCI World Share Index to an all-time high with a weekly gain of 3.3%.

• Even the market you might expect to languish under the weight of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs – China – is doing nothing of the sort. Chinese blue chips are up nearly 6% this week, with more than half of that gain coming on Thursday, perhaps on expectations of Beijing as a grenade launcher to counter the impact of any trade war. But markets have repeatedly crashed in recent weeks after surging on expectations of bold stimulus measures from China. The Standing Committee of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, ends its weekly session tonight in Beijing with a news conference that could stoke – or even explode – expectations.

• Futures on Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX are currently up around 0.2%, but Europe faces challenges, not least the threat of tariffs under Trump. The FTSE has fallen this week, particularly on Thursday after the Bank of England warned of a risk of rising inflation, slowing the pace of interest rate cuts.

• Germany is moving ever closer to snap elections after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's appeal to opposition conservative leader Friedrich Merz was not only rejected but prompted Merz to call for an immediate vote of no confidence. Scholz's awkward three-way coalition fell apart on Wednesday after he sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the fiscally conservative Free Democrats amid a protracted budget row.

• The Fed expectedly cut the key rate by 0.25% to 4.5-4.75%. The decision was unanimous and 99% expected.

• Apple faces $38 billion fine from EU for violating new EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), - The Verge.

• China's central bank sets yuan at weakest rate since late 2023 amid potential trade tensions with US after Donald Trump's victory - BBG
Automakers brace for significant industry changes after Donald Trump's victory - RTRS

• The newly elected president plans to impose tariffs of up to 200% on cars imported from Mexico and eliminate many existing incentives for electric vehicles.

• Nissan to lay off 9,000 people and cut production capacity by 20% - BBG. The reason is falling sales and tough competition from Tesla and Chinese electric cars. Nissan will also sell 10% of its stake in Mitsubishi, which currently stands at 34%.

• Elon Musk is $20+ billion richer thanks to Trump's victory. That is, the $150 million investment in Trump's election campaign has already paid off more than 10X.

• Senator Lummis has introduced a bill that would have the US government buy 200,000 BTC per year for 5 years. This way they want to accumulate 1 million coins in 5 years. And they plan to turn the cryptocurrency into an analogue of gold reserves to improve financial stability (and influence the market). For now, this is just a bill.

• Chinese exports surge amid potential return of trade tensions with US if Trump wins election.
They are exporting everything before the inauguration.

• Carlyle Group chief executive Harvey Schwartz said a clear presidential election result would give corporate executives and investors more confidence to make big deals, Reuters reported.

• Datadog (DDOG) raised its full-year forecast, betting on demand for AI-driven cybersecurity. Datadog raised its full-year revenue to $2.66 billion, up from its previous expectations of $2.62 billion to $2.63 billion.

• Under Armour (UA) reported results that beat analysts' expectations as changes led by founder Kevin Plank gain momentum.

• Moderna (MRNA) Sales Rises on Early Launch of Latest Covid Vaccine - Bloomberg. Moderna posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit and sales after an early launch of its Covid vaccine this season.

• Kellogg (K) beat third-quarter estimates on demand and higher prices. Consumers drove demand for ready-to-eat cereals, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks

• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) could face an early call on up to $1.725 billion in bonds if its accounting problems lead to its delisting from the Nasdaq. SMCI shares rose 12% yesterday.

• Stellantis, Infineon Announce Collaboration. Automaker Stellantis and German chipmaker Infineon said Thursday they will collaborate to further develop the automaker's next-generation vehicle power architecture.

• Anthropic teams up with Palantir and AWS to sell AI to defense customers To give U.S. intelligence and defense agencies access to Anthropic's Claude family of AI models.

• A joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo has won the right to place an order for 100 of its electric air taxis, Archer Aviation said on Thursday.

• Audi has introduced a new electric car brand in China without the four-ring logo. Cars there will bear only the AUDI name, rather than the brand's four-ring logo, in a move aimed at attracting younger customers.

• Unilever, Procter & Gamble face risk from Trump threats P&G and Unilever are among the big packaged goods companies that could be hurt if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico, according to data seen exclusively by Reuters.

Stocks in the morning after the report in the morning
UPST +20%
EXPE +5%
MSI +3%
RIVN +2%
EOG +1%
SQ -2%
ABNB -4%
ANET -4%
FTNT -4%
MNST -4%
NET -7%
TTD -10%
PINS -13%

Key events that could impact markets on Friday:
- China NPC Standing Committee report.
- Italy, Sweden industrial production (both September).
- Greece CPI (October).

Fundamental news

• The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US rose slightly last week, by 3,000 to 221,000.

• Once the Boeing strike ends and the impact of the storms subsides, the situation should stabilize - BBG.

• The Bank of England cut rates for the second time this year but warned of inflation risks from government spending. The central bank cut its benchmark rate to 4.75% but one official disagreed, preferring to keep it at 5%.

• Trump administration likely to roll back ESG rules - Bloomberg Many companies have already begun to shirk these rules themselves, as they do nothing but cause headaches.

• EU countries must now spend more than 2% of GDP on defence to protect themselves without US help - ifo study

• Reserve Bank of Australia officials have expressed concerns about the potential impact of Trump's tariff policies on the country's economy, BBG said. Officials said they were concerned about potential high tariffs on Chinese goods, as China is a key trading partner for Australia.

• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, after the dismissal of ministers and the collapse of the government coalition, announced his readiness to dissolve the Bundestag in order to "pave the way" for early parliamentary elections in Germany. According to him, Germany needs a stable majority and a government "capable of action."

• The German economy is on the brink of a major crisis after Trump's victory in the US elections. The threat of new trade tariffs (10-20% on imports) could cause damage to the German economy of around 33 billion euros, with the automotive and chemical sectors particularly affected.

• Germany is experiencing massive capital outflows amid a political crisis, with analysts saying €650 billion has left the country in recent years, a situation that could worsen after Trump's victory.

• American consumers could lose $46 billion to $78 billion in purchasing power annually if new tariffs are imposed on U.S. imports - NRF study

• Trump wants to see all criminal cases against him dismissed. Donald Trump's lawyers are preparing steps to dismiss the criminal cases brought against him in connection with his victory in the US presidential election.