declines in Europe; ASML jumps by about 4%, Louis Vuitton drops

13:15

Reuters reports that Amazon announced the layoffs of 16,000 jobs worldwide, in the second round of cuts that the company is conducting within three months; This, while it is re-adjusting itself after the mobilization of the permit during the Corona period and expanding the adoption of AI. The stock rises slightly in early trading.

12:30

The futures contracts on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rise by approximately 0.8% and by approximately 0.3%, respectively. The contracts on the Dow Jones indicate a stable opening. Microsoft , Meta andTesla (dark report on Thursday).

While Microsoft and Meta shares have risen in recent days ahead of the reports, in the case of Tesla the situation looks less bright. According to Bloomberg, Tesla is expected to report revenues of $25.11 billion, a 2.4% decrease compared to the same period last year. Tesla is expected to post adjusted earnings per share of $0.45, a figure that translates into adjusted net income of $1.59 billion – a significant drop from the $2.6 billion it reported last year.

Ziv Kramer, head of foreign stocks in Bank Hapoalim’s trading room, points out that “Tesla’s stock, which rose about 31% from last September and produced a return of 18.6% during 2025, presented returns in excess of quite a few of the corresponding players in the category, despite a particularly difficult year in which it continued to lose market share to European and Chinese manufacturers both in China and Europe; This, when in December Chinese manufacturers presented a growth of 127% year over year in Europe alone.

“Investors will examine the rate of growth in revenues in the report, when the analysts’ forecasts are for zero to negative single-digit growth. In addition, they will examine the margins that were damaged due to the decrease in sales growth and tariffs. As mentioned, the state of the company’s vehicle sales does not reflect the sentiment surrounding the stock, which revolves around expectations for the future.

“The investors’ conversation will focus a lot of interest, in which they will expect to hear the company’s reference to the progress of the autonomous taxi project – Robotaxis, when already a few days ago the company hinted that it is gradually moving to be without human supervision, while the company’s CEO Musk said that he aims to expand the service beyond Austin, Texas by the end of the year, and even lower the supervision monitor. The investors will try to understand the pace of progress in the project and especially the pricing strategy, and to what extent things will translate into substantial growth. In addition, they will expect to hear about progress in self-driving vehicles – FSD, which should bring with it a subscription pricing model that can be another growth engine.”

“With a profit multiplier of 200 for 2026 after the latest increase, and against a background of tense sentiment in the markets, investors are not expected to be forgiving in the event of numbers lower than forecasts or estimates that do not satisfy investors’ expectations.”

11:35

Trade in Europe continues to decline. The DAX and FTSE indices both weaken by about 0.3%, while the KAC falls by about 1.1%.

The positive reports of ASML Projecting on the rest of the European chip stocks. Among the stocks that register gains, you can find ASMI , Infineon and-STMicro .

10:55

European stock markets are trading at this time with prices falling. The Dax index falls by about 0.4%, the Potsi loses its value by about 0.1% and the KAC falls by about 1.1%.

The share of the Dutch chip company ASML jumps about 7% on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, after its financial results exceeded analysts’ forecasts, and at the same time announced a round of layoffs of about 1,700 employees.

On the other hand, the luxury giant’s share Louis Vuitton Drops by about 7%, after publishing mixed financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025. The company reported sales of about $27.2 billion, reflecting organic growth of 1%. The analysts expected sales of around 22 billion euros and an organic decrease of 0.3%, according to Visible Alpha data.

9:30

Asia

In Asia, stock markets are trading higher this morning, after the S&P 500 hit a new high yesterday, led by technology stocks. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange jumps about 2.3%, the Shanghai Stock Exchange added 0.2%, the South Korean Kospi jumped about 1.7% to a new all-time high and the Nikkei rose about 0.5%.

Wall Street

Wall Street closed last night in a mixed trend. The Nasdaq index rose by about 0.9% and the S&P 500 climbed by about 0.4% to a new record, about 20 points away from the 7,000 point mark; on the other hand, the Dow Jones lost its value by about 0.8%, mainly because of the drop in the health insurance giant’s stock united health . The drop in the stock comes after the reports it published last night – the company’s forecasts for profits and revenues for the full year 2026 were weaker than market expectations and disappointed investors.

The fall of United also radiated to the other insurance companies, such as humane andCVS Health which dropped sharply. The declines in the sector also came in response to a report according to which President Trump is expected to freeze the payment updates received by the insurance companies that provide services within the framework of the Medicare Advantage government insurance.

The gains were led by technology stocks, ahead of the financial reports of the technology giants Meta , Microsoft andTesla Today and the reports of dark on Thursday. Among the stocks that stood out positively, you can find Nvidia , dark , Microsoft , Micron , Amazon , Broadcom , ASML andCurvive . on the other hand, oracle andPalantir End the day in negative territory.

According to Bloomberg, Meta is expected to spend $21.9 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $14.4 billion in the same quarter last year. Meta is expected to report earnings per share of $8.16 on revenues of $58.4 billion. These data will be an improvement compared to a profit of $8.02 per share and revenues of $48.4 billion that the company recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.

As for Microsoft, Yahoo Finance reports that analysts expect revenues to grow by 15.3% compared to the same period last year and amount to $80.32 billion – an improvement over the 12.3% growth recorded in the same quarter last year. The adjusted profit is expected to be $3.92 per share.

As for Tesla, whose stock fell ahead of the reports, the situation looks less bright. According to Bloomberg, Tesla is expected to report revenues of $25.11 billion, a 2.4% decrease compared to the same period last year. Tesla is expected to post adjusted earnings per share of $0.45, a figure that translates into adjusted net income of $1.59 billion – a significant drop from the $2.6 billion it reported last year.

Thomas Martin, senior investment manager at Globalt Investments, told CNBC that “everyone is looking closely at anything that gives insight into the AI ​​narrative,” adding that investors will focus on the companies’ capital expenditures and any detail related to the monetization of artificial intelligence. Martin believes that while concerns about inflated Wall Street valuations and the ability to pay back AI spending are likely to remain, investor appetite will continue, at least over the next few years.

“Artificial intelligence is not going anywhere,” Martin said. “The construction of data centers will not stop. Its use, the use of models, the emergence of agents, robotics, etc. – all of this will simply continue on its path of discovery. It [שוק ה-AI] It’s going to move back and forth, but we expect it to be with a positive tendency.”

stock General Motors jumped to nearly 9%, following the positive financial reports it published yesterday. The company surpassed analysts’ expectations in the profit line, but missed a little in the revenue line. General Motors reported earnings per share of $2.51 and revenues of $45.29 billion, compared to analysts’ expectations, which stood at earnings per share of $2.2 and revenues of $45.8 billion. The company also announced a 20% increase in its quarterly dividend and a new plan to buy back shares totaling $6 billion. Following the reports, investment banks Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and UBS reaffirmed their buy recommendation on the stock. Goldman and Citi set a target price of $98 for the stock, while UBS set a target price of $97 – an upside of over 10% compared to its current price.

In Europe, trading yesterday closed in a mixed trend. The Dax fell by 0.15%, while the Potsi and Kac indexes added 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively. The trade was conducted against the background of the free trade agreement signed between India and the European Union, which was nicknamed “the mother of all trades”. As part of the agreement, which applies to about 25% of global GDP and about a third of world trade, both sides will gradually reduce tariffs on most of their imported goods to zero.

The commodity and currency markets

The strengthening of the shekel continues and for the first time in four years it is trading below NIS 3.10 to the dollar – its current rate is around NIS 3.09. This, in accordance with the weakening trend of the dollar around the world, in particular against the Japanese yen. The dollar index (DXY), which measures its strength against a basket of currencies, fell by about 1.2% to a four-year low. It is also the sharpest daily drop for the US currency since Trump’s April 10 tariff shake-up.

The price of gold breaks a new record this morning and hovers around $5,250 per ounce, with the weak US dollar helping to extend the rally in the precious metal – which began against the backdrop of geopolitical risks and the flight of investors from bonds and sovereign currencies. Silver is also strengthening and trading around $114 per ounce, after reaching a peak of around $116 earlier this week.

In the commodity market, oil prices jumped over 2% yesterday and continue to rise today, after a huge winter storm hit refineries on the Gulf Coast. The price of a barrel of American oil this morning is about $62.7, while the price of a barrel of Brent oil is about $66.9.

Macro

Ofer Klein, head of the economics and research department at Harel Insurance and Finance, commented on the first interest rate decision in the US for 2026 that will be published today. This forecast is similar to the expectations currently embodied in the financial markets, when the positive data published recently, alongside inflation remaining above the target and the upward revision of the growth forecast, strengthen it.”

At the center of the decision will be the first speech by the chairman of the central bank, Jerome Powell, since the public announcement he published on video, in which he indicated that the latest investigation opened in his case is a continuation of pressure from the president to influence the interest rate policy.

According to the latest Fed survey conducted by CNBC, the US central bank is expected to act cautiously regarding further interest rate cuts, regardless of the identity of the new Fed chairman. The survey respondents expect two more interest rate cuts during 2026 and that the interest rate will remain the same in 2027, even though President Trump is expected to soon announce a replacement for current chairman Jerome Powell. The new Fed chairman is expected to be more ‘June’, in accordance with the president’s desire for a more aggressive outline of interest rate cuts.

Also in the macro sector in the US: CB’s consumer confidence index, which estimates consumer confidence in the state of the American economy, fell to a level of 84.5 points, well below expectations (which was 90 points). This is the lowest level recorded since 2014.