Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company changed its name to Meta to reflect growth opportunities beyond its namesake social-media platform in online digital realms known as the metaverse. “Over time I hope our company will be seen as a metaverse company,” Mr. Zuckerberg said. He unveiled the name, formally Meta Platforms Inc., for the company that also includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other products during Facebook’s annual developer event, where he detailed his vision for the metaverse that he sees as key to the tech giant attracting younger users. “We’ve gone from desktop to web to phones, from text to photos to video, but this isn’t the end of the line,” Mr. Zuckerberg said at the social-media giant’s annual developer forum called Facebook Connect. “We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet.”

After the mid-week setback, the Swiss stock market showed a slight plus again on Thursday. The SMI improved by 0.5 per cent to 12,153 points and thus closed at a high for the day. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 14 price gainers and six price losers. 34.38 (previously: 31.99) million shares were traded. The reporting season remained in focus. The Swisscom share lost 7.4 per cent and was thus the SMI worst performer. Traders pointed to the continuing deadlock in the cooperation with Salt as the reason. The planned joint venture for fibre-optic networks is currently being examined by the Swiss competition authority. The Clariant share, on the other hand, rose by 5.0 percent. For the analysts at Baader Helvea, the results for the third quarter were better than expected. Price increases were implemented more strongly than expected, which had a positive effect on earnings.

European equity markets closed mixed on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained its accommodative policy, still believing that the acceleration in inflation will be temporary. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 475.2 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 0.8% and 0.7% respectively after corporate results were well received by investors. The DAX 40 lost 0.1% in Frankfurt, as did the FTSE 100 in London. Nokia Corp. on Thursday posted a forecast-beating rise in third-quarter net profit and now expects full-year margins to land at the top of its guidance range. However, it cautioned that both the availability and “unprecendented” cost inflation of components could hurt margins next year. The company’s comparable net profit for the quarter rose to 454 million euros ($526.8 million) from EUR300 million a year earlier, as sales rose 2.0% to EUR5.4 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected comparable net profit of EUR345 million on sales of EUR5.4 billion. On a reported basis, Nokia net profit rose to EUR342 million, it said. UniCredit SpA on Thursday reported a jump in third-quarter net profit and lifted its targets for the full year. The Italian bank’s net profit rose to 1.06 billion euros ($1.23 billion) from EUR680 million a year earlier. It was significantly ahead of analysts’ median estimate of EUR825 million based on company-compiled consensus. Quarterly revenue inched higher to EUR4.44 billion from EUR4.35 billion during the same period in 2020. Analysts had seen revenue at EUR4.26 billion, according to the same consensus. UniCredit’s net interest income--the difference between what lenders earn from loans and pay for deposits, and a key profit driver for retail banks--was EUR2.27 billion, down 1.4% on year.

U.S. stocks rose, buoyed by a string of solid earnings reports. The S&P 500 advanced 1% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4% in 4 p.m. trading, with both indexes closing at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%. Forecast-beating results have helped ease investors' worries that supply-chain difficulties would dent profits, sending stocks higher throughout the month of October. So far this reporting season, with nearly half of S&P 500 companies having posted results, about 82% of companies have managed to beat analysts' expectations for earnings, according to FactSet. Ford Motor Co. ’s stock jumped to its highest level in years following an upbeat financial projection and optimism that the automaker is reinstating its quarterly dividend. Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. reported quarterly results that showed how supply-chain problems and tight labor markets are tripping up even some of the biggest business winners of the pandemic era. Apple, which had record 12-month profit nearing $100 billion, warned that supply-chain disruptions are hindering iPhone and other product manufacturing and would bring increased challenges during the important holiday-shopping quarter. Amazon posted lower-than-expected third-quarter sales as labor and supply-chain challenges pushed costs up $2 billion and have made it harder to meet demand. The company has had to reroute products and has seen inconsistent staffing in some areas, according to executives. Sales of $110.8 billion fell below Wall Street expectations, and profit of $3.2 billion fell by about 50% from the same period a year earlier. Shares in both companies fell by 3% or more in after-hours trading.

The stock markets in East Asia and Australia are mixed on Friday. On the Hong Kong market, the The stock markets in East Asia and Australia are mixed on Friday. On the Hong Kong market, the recent subdued trend continues with small losses. Figures from reporting companies are the focus of the Tokyo market, which gains 0.3 per cent. Many companies are suffering from the cost of credit and raw materials.

On the US bond market, yields recovered some of their previous day's losses. The yield on the ten-year US Treasury note rose by 4 basis points to 1.568%.

UBS rises Santander target to 4,35 (4,20) EUR – Buy
Credit Suisse lowers Klöckner target to 9 (9,10) EUR – Underperform
Credit Suisse rises Puma target to 108 (102) EUR – Neutral

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