Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
HSBC posted a 32% jump in third-quarter pre-tax profit to $9.6bn, with revenue 5% higher at $18.6bn, mainly reflecting growth in banking net interest income. Both figures were a touch below forecasts, however. Net interest income - the difference between what banks charge for loans and what they pay out for savers’ deposits - was up 6% on the same period a year earlier to $9.3bn. Chief executive Georges Elhedery said: “Our performance shows that in a more complex world clients continue to turn to us to navigate uncertainty and seize new opportunities. It also reflects consistent execution of our strategic priorities with pace, precision and discipline."
Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser has cut its full-year sales growth guidance after third-quarter trading fell short of expectations, hit by manufacturing constraints affecting Lysol in North America and a slowdown in China’s vitamins and supplements market. Core like-for-like revenue rose 3.3% to £2.69bn, supported by emerging markets and a return to growth in Europe, but the company lowered its annual growth forecast to 3.5% to 4.5% from 4% to 5%.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Shop price inflation has risen to the highest level in two and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium, which warned that “the dam is starting to break” when it comes to retailers trying to limit price rises for customers. The lobby group said shop price inflation was 2.1% year on year in October, a sharp rise compared with 1.4% in September, and an indication that retailers were beginning to pass on the rising costs of energy and food ingredients since the Middle East conflict broke out. – Guardian
Owners of the new foldable iPhone are reporting cracks in the device’s screen, as Apple confirmed an issue with a “small number” of units. Reports of cracks have emerged on Reddit and social media platforms since the handset went on general sale globally on Friday. Experts said there had been too few examples to determine whether there was a more serious problem with Apple’s first foldable device, which retails from $1,999 (£1,499). Apple confirmed some devices had been affected by a display glitch. – Guardian
Microsoft has put up to 60,000 jobs at risk, including roles in the UK, as the tech giant seeks to trim costs. The company, which has 223,000 workers globally including 6,000 in Britain, has offered thousands of workers a type of voluntary redundancy in an effort to cut its headcount. Staff across the United States, Canada, India and the UK will be offered the “buyout” package, which allows workers to leave with a lucrative package, with those affected working in finance, HR, AI, Microsoft Copilot and the company’s Xbox division. – Telegraph
A defence start-up backed by the founder of Spotify is expanding into interceptors as Europe scrambles to fortify itself against Russian-style mass drone and missile attacks. Germany-based Helsing said on Monday that it had developed a new air defence system designed to shoot down targets with the help of artificial intelligence. The company will use radar and other sensors to track where drones and missiles are headed before an AI then decides which ones to shoot down first and launches interceptor missiles from the ground. – Telegraph
A taxpayer-backed provider of financial services to vulnerable people has taken £4m of frozen customer funds and booked them as income. Pockit, which provides services aimed at “millions of people in the UK and Europe who are underserved by traditional banks”, said in its latest accounts that it had decided that the “obligation to repay certain unclaimed funds no longer subsists”. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Monday as market participants rotated back into tech and awaited a heavy slate of central‑bank decisions later in the week.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28% at 52,361.58, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.70% to 7,676.77, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.82% firmer at 26,169.38.