Corporate results:

  • Nordea reported Q4 earnings below expectations and targets return on equity above 15% in 2024 and 2025.
  • UniCredit reported Q4 net profit of €2.81 billion and plans to distribute its entire 2023 profit of €8.6 billion to shareholders.
  • Vodafone reiterated its adjusted EBITDAAL forecasts.

In other news:

  • On Friday, Meta Platforms recorded its biggest-ever market value increase in a single session, jumping 20% to $204.5 billion.
  • Iran used Lloyds and Banco Santander accounts to evade sanctions, according to the FT.
  • The founding shareholders of SoftwareOne want to force a sale, according to the German press, after Bain Capital refused to take them over.
  • Tencent dismisses over 120 employees for fraud.
  • Audi (Volkswagen) plans to reorganize its global production network and may withdraw production of its Q8 e-tron model from its Brussels plant, according to Automobilwoche.
  • Rio Tinto reportedly retains control of an alumina refinery after an Australian court dismisses Rusal's claim.
  • Elliott Management sets its sights on Japan's largest real estate group, Mitsui Fudosan, reveals the FT.
  • Yandex sells its Russian assets to a consortium of investors for $5.2 billion.
  • Hyundai studies the possibility of listing its Indian unit, which could be worth $25-30 billion.
  • EQT relaunches its plan to float Galderma in Zurich for $20 billion, according to the FT.
  • Lynas Rare Earths categorically denied recent media speculation about a transaction with MP Materials.
  • BAE Systems buys British drone manufacturer Malloy Aeronautics.
  • Safilo acquires a minority stake in Spaarkly.
  • Fosun International explores the possibility of selling a minority stake in Club Med for $800 million, according to Reuters.
  • Reddit favors the NYSE for its IPO, according to the WSJ.
  • Caterpillar reported a rise in quarterly earnings on Monday, buoyed by strong demand for its construction equipment amid rising infrastructure spending and a rebound in the US housing market. 
  • McDonald’s announced on Monday its first quarterly sales decline in almost four years, due to weak growth in international sales, particularly in the Middle East, China and India. 
  • Estee Lauder on Monday revised its annual profit forecast downwards and announced a restructuring program aimed at reducing its workforce by 3% to 5% in order to control costs. 
  • Boeing is down 1.6% in pre-market trading after Spirit Aerosystems discovered two poorly drilled holes in the fuselages of certain 737 MAX aircraft, which should delay the delivery of some 50 aircraft to the airline, while the manufacturer addresses this new quality problem.
  • Tesla lost 1.3% in premarket trading after Piper Sandler lowered its price target from $295 to $225, after the intermediary cut the automaker's deliveries for this year to 1.93 million units from 2.18 million.
  • Amgen - The laboratory announced on Monday that preliminary data from its experimental obesity treatment, published in a medical journal, had shown that it promoted significant weight loss with an acceptable safety profile.
  • Apple - On Friday, a U.S. federal judge authorized tens of millions of Apple customers, who accuse the company of maintaining a monopoly with its App Store applications, to file a class action. Meanwhile, Apple's main subcontractor, the Taiwanese Foxconn Group, announced on Sunday that it was anticipating a "slightly better" year than 2023, but warned of a shortage of server chips for artificial intelligence.
  • Yandex - The Nasdaq-listed Russian technology group, incorporated under Dutch law, announced that it had reached an agreement worth 475 billion rubles ($5.21 billion) to sell all its assets in Russia to a consortium of Russian investors, including a fund owned by the oil company Lukoil.
  • Cano Health announced on Sunday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection and reached an agreement to restructure in order to reduce its debt and invite bids, including a buyout. S
  • Zscaler fell following the announcement of the departure of its Chief Operating Officer, Dali Rajic.

Today's main earnings reports: McDonald's, Caterpillar, Vertex, Air Products, UniCredit, Vodafone, NXP Semiconductors, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Bharti Airtel, Itochu... The full earnings calendar is here.