Market Update
Nasdaq Advanced 2% On Stable Treasury Yields and Receding Bank Worries
Barry Adams
29 Mar, 2023
New York City
Tech stocks rallied for the second day in a row after the yields on treasury securities held.
Stocks opened higher after banking crisis worries receded and Treasury yields for short and long term securities traded in a tight range and closed nearly unchanged.
With easing of bank worries and the Fed's rate pivot scenario dominated trading sentiment. Tech stocks, regional banks and rate sensitive sectors led the gainers on Wednesday's session.
Michael Barr, vice chairman for supervision Federal Reserve, said financial meltdown at the failed Silicon Valley Bank resulted from poor risk management.
"The picture that has emerged thus far shows SVB had inadequate risk management and internal controls that struggled to keep pace with the growth of the bank," noted Barr in his prepared remarks to the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Barr's comments soothed market nerves for now and investors surmised that the U.S. banking system may be able to avoid a wider contagion.
Tech stocks rallied on Wall Street following the surge in Alibaba Group in Hong Kong.
SoftBank, the largest stockholder in the Chinese e-commerce giant with a stake of 24%, soared on the Alibaba news.
In New York, Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms and Apple Inc advanced between 1% and 2.5% after worries of rapid rate hikes eased.
Weekly Mortgage Applications Index Rebounded
Mortgage applications volume increased 2.9% in the week ended March 24, the fourth weekly increase in a row, according to the weekly survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday.
“Application activity increased as mortgage rates declined for the third straight week.
The 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.45%, the lowest level in over a month,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
The Refinance Index increased 5% from the previous week and was 61% lower than the same week one year ago.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier and the unadjusted index increased 2% compared with the previous week and was 35% lower than the same week a year ago.
U.S. Indexes & Yields
The S&P 500 index increased 1.4% to 4,025.27 and the Nasdaq Composite index increased 1.7% to 11,920.07.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased 3 basis points to 4.09%, 10-year Treasury notes closed unchanged at 3.57% and 30-year Treasury bonds decreased 1 basis point to 3.78%.
Crude oil increased 33 cents to $72.86 a barrel and natural gas price edged up 2 cents to $2.17 a thermal unit.
U.S. Movers
UBS Group AG increased 3.5% to $19.95 after the company recalled former chief executive Sergio Ermotti to manage the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition.
Lululemon Athletica increased 14.4% to $365.05 after the athleisure retailer reported a surge in comparable same store sales in the fourth quarter.
Revenue in the fourth quarter ending in January increased 30% to $2.8 billion on comparable sales surge of 27%.
Net income in the quarter dropped to $119.8 million from $434.5 million and diluted earnings per share fell to 94 cents from $3.37 a year ago.
The company estimated fiscal first quarter 2023 net revenue in the range of $1.890 billion to $1.930 billion, representing growth of approximately 18%.
Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.93 to $2.00 for the quarter.
Micron Technology Inc advanced 6.2% to $63.0 after the semiconductor manufacturer reported smaller-than-anticipated quarterly loss.
Revenue in the fiscal second quarter ending on March 2 declined to $3.69 billion from $4.09 billion in the prior quarter and $7.79 billion a year ago.
The company swung to a loss of $2.3 billion from a profit of $2.3 billion and diluted earnings per share was ($2.12) from $2.0 a year ago.
The company guided revenue in the third quarter of $3.7 billion and diluted loss per share of $1.79.
“Customer inventories are getting better, and we expect gradual improvements to the industry’s supply-demand balance," said chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra.
European Markets Extended Recent Gains
European markets rebounded for the second day in a row as investors looked beyond the current banking crisis in Switzerland and the United States.
UBS rehired its former chief executive, after the Swiss-bank was forced by the Swiss government to takeover Credit Suisse, shoring confidence in bank stocks in the region.
Market nerves were further soothed after the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Supervision Michael Barr said the poor risk control and mismanagement and not systemic troubles were behind the recent demise of Silicon Valley Bank.
Tech stocks were among the leading gainers after Alibaba Group announced a restructuring plan and split the company in six business units.
The restructuring news lifted tech stocks in Europe, Asia and in New York trading.
Europe Indexes & Yields
The DAX index increased 1.2% to 15,328.78, the CAC-40 index added 1.4% to 7,186.99 and the FTSE 100 index advanced 1.1% to 7,564.27.
The yield on 10-year German Bunds increased to 2.82%, French bonds advanced to 2.82%, the UK gilts to 3.46% and Italian bonds to 4.14%.
The euro inched up to $1.08, the British pound edged higher to $1.23 and the Swiss franc advanced to 91.94 cents.
Brent crude decreased 14 cents to $78.50 a barrel and the Dutch TTF natural gas prices for immediate month delivery rose 31 cents to $43.06 per MWh.
Europe Movers
Mercedes Benz Group AG decreased 2.1% to €70.36 after Kuwait Investment Authority plans to reduce its stake in the luxury automaker.
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund plans to sell 20 million shares at average price of Є69.27 and raise about Є1.4 billion.
After the sale, the sovereign fund will still hold about 53 million shares or 4.8% stake in the company.
Infineon Technologies AG increased 6.9% to €35.88 after the German chipmaker raised its outlook for the fiscal second quarter and full-year 2023.
Nordex SE advanced 1.3% to €12.78 after the German wind turbine maker won contracts to supply and install 14 wind turbines with a total capacity of 78 MW in Greece.
Two wind farms with a total of 10 turbines are to be built in Boeotia in Central Greece, while one wind farm with four turbines is to be installed in Achaia in the north-west of the Peloponnese in western Greece.
After commissioning the three wind farms will produce more than 232 GWh of electricity a year, equivalent to the consumption of 60,000 Greek households, and reducing the emission of around 100,000 tons of CO2 a year.
Essentra Plc increased 5.4% to 187.0 pence after the components and systems maker launched a stock repurchase program.
The company said revenue in 2022 increased 12% to £338 million from £302 million and net loss expanded to £31 million from £5 million and loss per share rose to 10.3 pence from 1.6 pence from a year ago.
The company announced a plan to return £150 million capital to shareholders, consisting of £90 million in special dividend (29.8 pence per share) and £60 million through a stock repurchase plan.
UBS Group AG increased 3.7% to Sfr 18.40 after the Swiss-bank rehired Sergio Ermotti as chief executive to lead the recent takeover of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of reinsurance company Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition, said the company in a press statement.
Europe Movers: Essentra, Infineon Technologies, Mercedes Benz, Nordex, UBS
Bridgette Randall
29 Mar, 2023
Frankfurt
Essentra Plc increased 5.4% to 187.0 pence after the components and systems maker launched a stock repurchase program.
The company said revenue in 2022 increased 12% to £338 million from £302 million and net loss expanded to £31 million from £5 million and loss per share rose to 10.3 pence from 1.6 pence from a year ago.
The company announced a plan to return £150 million capital to shareholders, consisting of £90 million in special dividend (29.8 pence per share) and £60 million through a stock repurchase plan.
Mercedes Benz Group AG decreased 2.1% to €70.36 after Kuwait Investment Authority plans to reduce its stake in the luxury automaker.
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund plans to sell 20 million shares at average price of Є69.27 and raise about Є1.4 billion.
After the sale, the sovereign fund will still hold about 53 million shares or 4.8% stake in the company.
Infineon Technologies AG increased 6.9% to €35.88 after the German chipmaker raised its outlook for the fiscal second quarter and full-year 2023.
Nordex SE advanced 1.3% to €12.78 after the German wind turbine maker won contracts to supply and install 14 wind turbines with a total capacity of 78 MW in Greece.
Two wind farms with a total of 10 turbines are to be built in Boeotia in Central Greece, while one wind farm with four turbines is to be installed in Achaia in the north-west of the Peloponnese in western Greece.
After commissioning the three wind farms will produce more than 232 GWh of electricity a year, equivalent to the consumption of 60,000 Greek households, and reducing the emission of around 100,000 tons of CO2 a year.
UBS Group AG increased 3.7% to Sfr 18.40 after the Swiss-bank rehired Sergio Ermotti as chief executive to lead the recent takeover of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of reinsurance company Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition, said the company in a press statement.
European Markets Extended Recent Gains
Bridgette Randall
29 Mar, 2023
Frankfurt
European markets rebounded for the second day in a row as investors looked beyond the current banking crisis in Switzerland and the United States.
UBS rehired its former chief executive, after the Swiss-bank was forced by the Swiss government to takeover Credit Suisse, shoring confidence in bank stocks in the region.
Market nerves were further soothed after the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Supervision Michael Barr said the poor risk control and mismanagement and not systemic troubles were behind the recent demise of Silicon Valley Bank.
Tech stocks were among the leading gainers after Alibaba Group announced a restructuring plan and split the company in six business units.
The restructuring news lifted tech stocks in Europe, Asia and in New York trading.
Indexes & Yields
The DAX index increased 1.2% to 15,328.78, the CAC-40 index added 1.4% to 7,186.99 and the FTSE 100 index advanced 1.1% to 7,564.27.
The yield on 10-year German Bunds increased to 2.82%, French bonds advanced to 2.82%, the UK gilts to 3.46% and Italian bonds to 4.14%.
The euro inched up to $1.08, the British pound edged higher to $1.23 and the Swiss franc advanced to 91.94 cents.
Brent crude decreased 14 cents to $78.50 a barrel and the Dutch TTF natural gas prices for immediate month delivery rose 31 cents to $43.06 per MWh.
Europe Movers
Mercedes Benz Group AG decreased 2.1% to €70.36 after Kuwait Investment Authority plans to reduce its stake in the luxury automaker.
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund plans to sell 20 million shares at average price of Є69.27 and raise about Є1.4 billion.
After the sale, the sovereign fund will still hold about 53 million shares or 4.8% stake in the company.
Infineon Technologies AG increased 6.9% to €35.88 after the German chipmaker raised its outlook for the fiscal second quarter and full-year 2023.
Nordex SE advanced 1.3% to €12.78 after the German wind turbine maker won contracts to supply and install 14 wind turbines with a total capacity of 78 MW in Greece.
Two wind farms with a total of 10 turbines are to be built in Boeotia in Central Greece, while one wind farm with four turbines is to be installed in Achaia in the north-west of the Peloponnese in western Greece.
After commissioning the three wind farms will produce more than 232 GWh of electricity a year, equivalent to the consumption of 60,000 Greek households, and reducing the emission of around 100,000 tons of CO2 a year.
Essentra Plc increased 5.4% to 187.0 pence after the components and systems maker launched a stock repurchase program.
The company said revenue in 2022 increased 12% to £338 million from £302 million and net loss expanded to £31 million from £5 million and loss per share rose to 10.3 pence from 1.6 pence from a year ago.
The company announced a plan to return £150 million capital to shareholders, consisting of £90 million in special dividend (29.8 pence per share) and £60 million through a stock repurchase plan.
UBS Group AG increased 3.7% to Sfr 18.40 after the Swiss-bank rehired Sergio Ermotti as chief executive to lead the recent takeover of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of reinsurance company Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition, said the company in a press statement.
Movers: lululemon, McCormick, Micron, Paychex, UBS
Scott Peters
29 Mar, 2023
New York City
Lululemon Athletica Inc increased 14.4% to $365.05 after the athleisure retailer reported a surge in comparable same store sales in the fourth quarter.
Revenue in the fourth quarter ending in January increased 30% to $2.8 billion on comparable sales surge of 27%.
Net income in the quarter dropped to $119.8 million from $434.5 million and diluted earnings per share fell to 94 cents from $3.37 a year ago.
The company estimated fiscal first quarter 2023 net revenue in the range of $1.890 billion to $1.930 billion, representing growth of approximately 18%.
Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.93 to $2.00 for the quarter.
McCormick & Company Inc advanced 37 cents to $81.53 after the spice maker reported stable revenue in its latest quarter.
Revenue in the fiscal first quarter ending in February increased 3% to $1.56 billion from $1.52 billion and net income fell to $139.1 million from $154.9 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 52 cents from 57 cents a year ago.
The company's sales were affected by 2% from the lower consumption in China due to Covid-related disruption, exiting from Russia and divestiture of the company's Kitchen Basics business.
Micron Technology Inc advanced 6.2% to $63.0 after the semiconductor manufacturer reported smaller-than-anticipated quarterly loss.
Revenue in the fiscal second quarter ending on March 2 declined to $3.69 billion from $4.09 billion in the prior quarter and $7.79 billion a year ago.
The company swung to a loss of $2.3 billion from a profit of $2.3 billion and diluted earnings per share was ($2.12) from $2.0 a year ago.
The company guided revenue in the third quarter of $3.7 billion and diluted loss per share of $1.79.
“Customer inventories are getting better, and we expect gradual improvements to the industry’s supply-demand balance," said chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra.
Paychex, Inc increased 6.01% to $115.53 after the payroll services provider reported stronger-than-expected revenue growth and earnings per share.
Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending in February increased 8% to $1.38 billion and net income rose 9% to $467.4 million from $430.7 million and diluted earnings per share rose to $1.29 from $1.19 a year ago.
"We have no cash, restricted cash, or investments deposited with Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank and have met all client fund obligations related to employee payment services and remittances to applicable tax or regulatory agencies," the company said in its earnings release statement.
UBS Group AG increased 3.5% to $19.95 after the company recalled former chief executive Sergio Ermotti to manage the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition.
Tech Rally Lifts Major Averages On Wall Street
Barry Adams
29 Mar, 2023
New York City
Benchmark indexes advanced on Wall Street and investors looked beyond banking system worries.
Stocks opened higher after banking crisis worries eased and Treasury yields held stable.
Federal Reserve's vice chairman supervision Michael Barr said financial meltdown at the failed Silicon Valley Bank resulted from poor risk management.
Barr's comments soothed market nerves for now and investors surmised that the U.S. banking system may be able to avoid a wider contagion.
Tech stocks rallied on Wall Street following the surge in Alibaba Group in Hong Kong and SoftBank in Tokyo.
Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms and Apple Inc advanced between 1% and 2.5%.
Weekly Mortgage Applications Index Rebounded
Mortgage applications volume increased 2.9% in the week ended March 24, the fourth weekly increase in a row, according to the weekly survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday.
“Application activity increased as mortgage rates declined for the third straight week.
The 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.45%, the lowest level in over a month,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
The Refinance Index increased 5% from the previous week and was 61% lower than the same week one year ago.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier and the unadjusted index increased 2% compared with the previous week and was 35% lower than the same week a year ago.
Indexes & Yields
The S&P 500 index increased 1.02% to 4,011.67 and the Nasdaq Composite index increased 1.3% to 11,868.15.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased 6 basis points to 4.13%, 10-year Treasury notes rose 4 basis points to 3.60% and 30-year Treasury bonds increased 2 basis points to 3.81%.
Crude oil increased 82 cents to $74.07 a barrel and natural gas price edged down 4 cents to $2.10 a thermal unit.
U.S. Movers
UBS Group AG increased 3.5% to $19.95 after the company recalled former chief executive Sergio Ermotti to manage the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse.
Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years to October 2020 and is currently Chairman of Swiss Re.
Ermotti will replace current CEO Ralph Hamers on April 6 and Hamers will advise the company during the transition.
Lululemon Athletica increased 14.4% to $365.05 after the athleisure retailer reported a surge in comparable same store sales in the fourth quarter.
Revenue in the fourth quarter ending in January increased 30% to $2.8 billion on comparable sales surge of 27%.
Net income in the quarter dropped to $119.8 million from $434.5 million and diluted earnings per share fell to 94 cents from $3.37 a year ago.
The company estimated fiscal first quarter 2023 net revenue in the range of $1.890 billion to $1.930 billion, representing growth of approximately 18%.
Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.93 to $2.00 for the quarter.
Micron Technology Inc advanced 6.2% to $63.0 after the semiconductor manufacturer reported smaller-than-anticipated quarterly loss.
Revenue in the fiscal second quarter ending on March 2 declined to $3.69 billion from $4.09 billion in the prior quarter and $7.79 billion a year ago.
The company swung to a loss of $2.3 billion from a profit of $2.3 billion and diluted earnings per share was ($2.12) from $2.0 a year ago.
The company guided revenue in the third quarter of $3.7 billion and diluted loss per share of $1.79.
“Customer inventories are getting better, and we expect gradual improvements to the industry’s supply-demand balance," said chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra.
Global Markets On Hold After Higher-Rates-Longer Complicates Earnings Outlook
Barry Adams
28 Mar, 2023
New York City
Investors remained on the sidelines despite the growing chorus of reassurances from central bankers and government officials.
Benchmark indexes struggled to cross the flatline on the worries that the interest rates may stay higher for longer than previously anticipated.
The ongoing turmoil in the U.S. and European banking sector may not prevent the U.S. Federal Reserve from lifting rates higher at the next meeting in May.
Despite nine rate hikes over the last fourteen months, the economy is set to expand at 3.2% annual pace in the first quarter, but higher interest rates are expected to slow down the growth in 2023 to 0.4%.
Economic growth projections from the Federal Reserve indicate that the economy may face negative growth in the second and third quarter, as higher rates kick in.
Higher rates may weaken economic growth and ease tight labor market conditions, meaning wage gains may slow as well, but slower wage inflation or economic activities may not slow down inflation.
Because supply chain issues and rising cost of services are driving the inflation, and none are in direct control of the Federal Reserve.
Moreover, higher interest rates for longer are certainly going to increase financial burden on regional banks, forcing the Fed to tread carefully.
Investors are still pricing for the Fed to pause after the next rate increase in May, but that is based on the assumption that the inflation is cooling and on its way to drop to the 2%-level preferred by the policymakers.
The watered down measure of inflation, the PCE index, which excludes many drivers of price gains, is stubbornly stuck at more than twice the inflation level preferred by the Federal Reserve, indicating it will take many more rate hikes before the inflation drops to the desired level.
Higher interest rates have varying degrees of impact on different aspects of the economy, and interest rate is a blunt tool with lagging results forcing policymakers to tighten more than needed.
The Fed's dilemma is if it waits too long to raise rates then the higher inflation will become even more entrenched in the economy, and if it lifts rates too fast than the stress in the banking system could lead to more defaults.
In either scenario, stocks are still reflecting rosy earnings scenarios for the current year, and the Fed's inflation-fight is also going to keep earnings subdued for at least three more quarters to come.
International Goods Trade Deficit Held In February
The international goods trade deficit in February edged up to $91.6 billion from $91.1 billion in January, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
Exports in February declined to $167.8 billion from $174.6 billion in January but rose from $159.1 billion a year ago.
imports in February decreased to $259.5 billion from $265.6 billion in January and fell from $264.4 billion a year ago.
Price Unadjusted Wholesale and Retail inventories Advanced in February
Wholesale inventories, seasonally adjusted but price unadjusted, in February increased 0.2% from January to $920.3 billion, and increased 12.2% from a year ago.
Retail inventories, seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for prices, in February increased 0.8% from January to $747.3 billion, and up 10.8% from a year ago.
U.S. Indexes & Yields
The S&P 500 index decreased 6.23 points to 3,971.30 and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 52.76 points or 0.5% to 11,716.08.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes rose to 4.05%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 3.55% and 30-year Treasury bonds advanced to 3.77%.
Crude oil traded up 38 cents to $73.18 a barrel and natural gas edged down 8 cents to $2.00 a thermal unit.
U.S. Stock Movers
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd jumped 8.02% to $93.03 after the Chinese e-commerce giant said it plans to split the company into six separate units including e-commerce, media and cloud services.
Lyft Inc increased 6.0% to $10.19 after the ridesharing company said its co-founders, chief executive Logan Green and President John Zimmer, plan to step down from management roles and transition to non-executive roles.
Former Amazon executive David Risher will become chief executive officer on April 17.
Occidental Petroleum jumped 2.1% to $60.89 and a regulatory filing showed Berkshire Hathaway acquired additional 3.7 million shares for $216 million, increasing the Warren Buffett controlled conglomerate's stake to 23.5%.
European Markets Erased Early Gains
European markets struggled to hold early gains after investors turned cautious.
Benchmark indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt opened higher but lost gains as the session progressed.
Investors stepped up to buy banks and financial services stocks after the easing of contagion worries.
Resource stocks closed higher after crude oil and base metal and commodities prices advanced.
In the final hour of trading, major averages lost most of the session's gains on the worries of recession and rising risks to losses at banks in the face of rapid rise in interest rates.
Investors reviewed the latest comments from the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, but skepticism prevailed as rapid rise in interest rates are expected to cause larger losses in assets held by banks.
The U.K. banking system is in a "strong position capital and liquidity wise," Bailey told the Treasury Select Committee of the U.K.
Investors also overlooked a slight weakening of manufacturers' confidence in France for the first time in four months.
The manufacturing confidence declined to 104 in March from 105 in February, the statistical agency Insee reported Tuesday.
UK shop price index, a measure of food and non-food prices, increased in March, the British Retail Consortium reported Tuesday.
BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index increased 8.9% from a year ago in March, faster than 8.4% in February.
The annual increase was driven by a record increase in food prices by 15.0% and a record price increase of 5.9% in non-food items.
Europe Indexes & Yields
The DAX index increased 14.34 points to 15,142.02, the CAC-40 index added 10.07 points to 7,088.34 and the FTSE 100 index advanced 12.48 points to 7,484.25.
The yield on 10-year German Bunds increased to 2.27%, French bonds to 2.79%, the UK gilts to 3.45% and Italian bonds to 4.14%.
The euro edged higher to $1.08, the British pound inched up to $1.233 and the Swiss franc to 91.94 cents.
Brent crude oil increased 72 cents to $78.84 a barrel and the Dutch TTF natural gas price increased 57 cents to Є43.10 per MWh.
Europe Movers
A rebound in crude oil prices and base commodities lifted resource stocks.
Anglo American, Glencore, BP Plc, Shell Plc increased between 1% and 3%.
Diageo Plc declined 1.02% to 3,546.50 pence after the company said chief executive Ivan Menezes will retire at the end of June after ten years of service.
Debra Crew, current chief operating officer, will assume the leadership role and join the company's board from July 1.
Ocado Plc increased 2.5% to 463.52 pence after the online grocery delivery company reaffirmed its full-year earnings outlook.
The company said revenue in the first quarter ending in February increased 3.4% to £584 million and average weekly orders rose 3.6% to 381,000.
The company said active customers increased 13.8% to 951,000 from 835,000 a year ago.
RATIONAL AG declined 1.0% to €594.0 despite the commercial kitchen supplier posting a rise in revenue in fiscal year 2022.
Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 50% to Є290.4 million from Є193.5 million and after-tax net income jumped 182% to Є61.0 million from Є21.7 million and earnings per share rose to Є5.37 from Є1.91 a year ago.
UBS Group AG increased 1.7% to Sfr 17.74 after chief executive Ralph Hammers said buying Credit Suisse is a growth opportunity for the group.
"While we did not seek this transaction, we were prepared" and "We did not buy Credit Suisse only to close it," added Hammers in an internal note and reported first by Reuters.