Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA lowered its guidance for the fiscal year late Thursday after it swung to an operating loss in the first quarter on continued supply-chain constraints. In the three months to Dec. 30, the Spanish energy company posted an adjusted loss before interest and taxes of 309 million euros ($350 million) from a profit of EUR121 million a year earlier, on revenue that fell to EUR1.8 billion from EUR2.3 billion, according to preliminary figures. Order intake rose to EUR2.5 billion from EUR2.3 billion, said the company, a subsidiary of Germany’s Siemens Energy AG . The operating loss was largely a result of cost-estimate deviations and cost inflation affecting the wind-turbine division, the company said, adding that the 5.X turbine platform has suffered delays exacerbated by supply bottlenecks. “Also, volatile market conditions have impacted some of our customers’ investment decisions and, as a consequence, resulted in delays to some of our projects,” the company said. The company said it is now forecasting a possible operating loss for fiscal 2022. The adjusted EBIT margin should range between -4% and 1%, lowered from a previous positive target of between 1% and 4%. Revenue is expected to decline on year by between 2% and 9%, from between 2% and 7% previously, the company said.

The European stock market experienced a crash on Friday that the Swiss stock exchange could not escape. The franc was sought after as a supposed safe haven because of geopolitical tensions and gained noticeably against the euro and the US dollar in the afternoon. The strength of the Swiss currency put additional pressure on the domestic stock market, as it reduced the competitiveness of the Swiss export industry. The SMI plunged 1.6 per cent to 12,356 points. All 20 SMI stocks posted losses. 50.95 million shares were traded (previously: 28.03). The strength of the franc depressed prices in the export-heavy luxury goods segment. Richemont was the SMI's worst performer, down 4.8 per cent - even a positive commentary by Deutsche Bank did not help. Swatch lost 2.6 per cent. Swiss Re (-0.1 per cent) held its own, with trading pointing to a Societe Generale upgrade to "buy". Defensive Nestle (-0.1%) also held up much better than the market.

Airbus SE scrapped a $6 billion jet contract with Qatar Airways Ltd., part of an escalating legal battle between the two over paint. The move is unusual for Airbus, which alongside Boeing Co. , strives hard to keep contracts with airline customers alive. Airbus, in particular, has sought through the pandemic to enforce sales contracts with carriers and other jet buyers, many of whom have sought to back out of deals amid a Covid-19-related travel bust. The cancellation is the latest move in a monthslong fight between Airbus, the world’s largest plane maker, and Qatar Airways, which became the world’s largest long-haul airline during the pandemic. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has long had a tough-customer reputation, publicly lashing out at both Airbus and Boeing whenever he perceives delivery or quality issues. GlaxoSmithKline PLC and partner Vir Biotechnology Inc. are straining to meet soaring demand for their Covid-19 antibody treatment after the highly mutated Omicron variant knocked out the two competing products. Demand has jumped in recent weeks for the treatment, called Sotrovimab, because it is the only antibody drug authorized in the U.S. for the newly infected that has been found to work against Omicron. Glaxo and Vir, which were using one manufacturing plant, say they have raced to add another and taken other steps to roughly double the number of doses they can deliver to the U.S. in the first quarter to 600,000.

All three major indexes fell Friday, ending a holiday shortened four-day trading week. The S&P 500 fell 84.79 points, or 1.9%, to 4397.94, while the Dow industrials lost 450 points, or 1.3%, to 34265.37. The Nasdaq was off 385.1 points, or 2.7%, to 13768.92. The three indexes fell for a third consecutive week, continuing their slide to start 2022, with investors worried about the prospect of higher interest rates and their effect on valuations. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index wrapped up their worst weeks since March 2020; the Nasdaq has fallen for four weeks in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished its worst weekly performance since October 2020. For the week, Nasdaq fell 7.55%, while the S&P 500 dropped 5.7% and the Dow lost 4.6%. Plunging shares of Netflix Inc. and other streamers dragged the Nasdaq Composite Index deeper into correction territory Friday, as a selloff in government bonds and lackluster earnings have eroded demand for the once-highflying tech trade. The Nasdaq slid 2.7% Friday, capping the technology-heavy index’s worst week since March 2020. The losses extended the Nasdaq’s fall from its Nov. 19 record to 13%. Treasury yields remained high despite a break in the selling on Friday, leaving the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond at 1.747%, up about 25 basis points so far this month. Netflix shares fell 22% after the company late Thursday reported slowing subscriber growth. It was the streaming giant’s biggest single-day drop since 2012. Intel Corp. said it plans to invest at least $20 billion in new chip-making capacity in Ohio, bolstering the company’s semiconductor-production ambitions as greater demand for digital products and a global chip shortage have amplified the need for more manufacturing.

The mood on the East Asian stock exchanges remains depressed at the start of the new week. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index has recovered from the lows of the day and is now up 0.2 per cent at 27,569 points. In Shanghai, the index is also rising slightly, while in Hong Kong it is down by around 1 per cent. The clear laggard is the stock exchange in Seoul, where the Kospi is down 1.6 per cent. It is at its lowest level in over a year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was steady Monday at 1.78%. The Fed's benchmark short-term interest rate is currently in a range of 0% to 0.25%. Investors now see a nearly 70% chance that the Fed will raise the rate by at least one percentage point by the end of the year, according to CME Group's Fed Watch tool.

Deutsche Bank raises the Richemont target to CHF 155 (145) – Buy
BoA raises the Relx target by 4% to 2,560p – Buy
JP Morgan raises the Delivery Hero target to EUR 139 (137) – Overweight

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.