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Gold price reaches new high, surpasses $2,800 per ounce; palladium continues its ascent

Gold prices breached the $2,800 per ounce mark on Wednesday to hit a fresh record high as uncertainty over US elections and geopolitical tensions fueled safe-haven demand. 

“Against the backdrop of persistent geopolitical risks stemming from the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the uncertainty surrounding the US presidential election turns out to be a key factor benefiting the safe-haven precious metal,’ Haresh Menghani, editor at Fxstreet.com, said in a report. 

At the time of writing, the most active December gold contract was $2,799.70 per ounce, up 0.7% from the previous close. The contract had hit a fresh lifetime high of $2,801.65 per ounce earlier in the session. 

Meanwhile, US Treasury yields slipped, which further boosted demand for non-yielding commodities such as gold and silver. 

The rally in gold prices comes ahead of next week’s US Presidential elections and a policy meeting of the Federal Reserve. 

Gold bulls have stayed resilient in the face of expectations of reduced bets over a larger rate cut by the Fed.

The US central bank had cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September, fueling expectations of a similar cut in November. 

However, hotter-than-expected inflation and a resilient labor market in the US have since then reduced bets for a similar rate cut. 

According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders have priced in a 98.9% probability of the Fed cutting rates by 25 bps at next week’s meeting. 

Source: CME Group

Uncertainty over US elections

The mounting uncertainty over the outcome of next week’s US elections has boosted safe-haven demand for gold. 

Polls and analysts predict a hotly contested battle between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Both candidates have listed different sets of plans for the US economy, which has increased uncertainty over the political scenario in the US. 

Investors will be closely monitoring the results of the elections next week as it could shape US politics for the next four years. 

Geopolitical tensions rise

On Tuesday, an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza reportedly killed 100 people. 

This comes after Israel carried out strikes over the weekend on Iran’s military facilities in retaliation to the latter’s attack on Tel Aviv on October 1. 

Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate further. 

Menghani noted:

The development raises the risk of a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East and contributes to the bid tone surrounding the safe-haven XAU/USD, offsetting the recent surge in the US Treasury bond yields and the US Dollar.

Economic data in focus

Investors will be focusing on the release of the third quarter GDP data in the US on Thursday. The unemployment claims report will also be released on Thursday, which will provide more cues about the country’s economic health. 

Furthermore, the US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index will be released on Friday. The data is the Fed’s preferred gauge for inflation. 

Non-farm payroll data is also due on Friday. 

If the data points to a resilient US economy, the Fed may adhere to smaller rate cuts at its upcoming meetings. However, any rate cuts auger well for gold as it is a non-yielding asset. 

Palladium prices hit 10-month high

The price of palladium continued its uptrend, which began last week. 

Prices had risen to $1,255 per ounce on Tuesday, its highest level in 10 months. The price has risen 15% in the last three trading sessions till Tuesday. 

The optimism was fueled by the US’ call to the G7 nations to consider further ways of reducing Russia’s revenues by restricting palladium exports. 

Russia contributes around 40% of the total palladium supply. 

“The price increase was likely to have been exacerbated by the covering of speculative short positions,” Commerzbank AG said in a report. According to the CFTC, net short positions on 22 October were still around 5,500 contracts. 

The German bank added:

The low price levels of platinum and palladium are likely to lead to production curtailments in South Africa. Fears that the transition to e-mobility could mean that hardly any palladium will be needed in car production just a few years from now have proved to be exaggerated.

The post Gold price reaches new high, surpasses $2,800 per ounce; palladium continues its ascent appeared first on Invezz

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Starbucks stock on edge as fresh threats emerge ahead of earnings

Starbucks (SBUX) stock price remained in a consolidation phase as traders waited for the first quarterly earnings under Brian Niccol. After the initial surge when he was appointed in August, the stock has embraced a wait-and-see approach as investors focus on his strategy release. 

Two new threats have come up

Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world, is now facing two potential big risks in the US and China. 

First, there are rumours that Luckin Coffee, the fast-growing coffee chain in China, is considering launching new stores in the US. According to the Financial Times, the company plans to do that as soon as in 2025. 

Its initial focus will be in big cities that have large populations of Chinese students and tourists like New York and California.

Luckin has already started doing the groundwork for its launch, sponsoring some adverts in key sporting events. 

As such, there is a likelihood that the company will replicate its success in China to become a leading player in the US coffee industry.

A key benefit in its model is that it relies on franchises, which helps it to grow at a faster pace than other companies. This model has also helped it open over 20,000 stores a few years after it was launched. 

Another benefit is that Luckin Coffee has a long record of having a pricing advantage, while still maintaining higher margins. It has a gross and net profit margin of 55% and 7.16%, while Starbucks has 27.6% and 11.16%, respectively.

To be clear: Starbucks is still a well-liked brand in the United States, and there are chances that Luckin will not be as popular in the country. Many foreign companies that have attempted to win in the American market like Tesco, Sainsbury, and HSBC have not succeeded.

Cotti Coffee and rising competition

The second big threat that Starbucks will now contend with is that Luckin Coffee is not the only big competitor to fear. 

Cotti Coffee, a company that was established by Lu Xhengyao and Jenny Qian, who founded Luckin Coffee, has continued to gain market share in China. Recently, the company opened 10,000 stores in the country, less than three years after its launch.

Cotti Coffee has achieved this growth by replicating Luckin Coffee’s growth strategy. It has used the franchising model and focused on affordable prices. 

Therefore, Cotti Coffee is a threat to Luckin and Starbucks, because most of its stores are newer and its price more affordable. Also, the company is expanding to other countries in the Southeast Asian region. 

These new developments mean that the era where Starbucks was the only game in the coffee industry has ended. 

Starbucks earnings ahead

The next important catalyst for the Starbucks stock will be its quarterly results, which will come out on Wednesday after the bell.

These will be important results because they will be the first time that Niccol has addressed analysts in an earnings call.

He will likely share his views on what to expect, and some of the top strategies that he is working on. 

According to Yahoo Finance, analysts expect the results to show that Starbuck’s revenue were flat in the second quarter at $9.3 billion. Its earnings per share is expected to drop from $1.06 to $1.03

For the year, Starbucks’ revenue guidance will be $36.5 billion, a small increase from the $35.9 billion it made a year earlier. 

The other big issue with Starbucks is that it is relatively overvalued, especially for a company that is no longer growing. Its forward price-to-earnings ratio has moved to 25.64, higher than the S&P 500 average of 21. Its multiple has moved to the highest point in months.

Starbucks also has an enterprise value-to-margin ratio of 17, higher than other companies in the industry. These valuation metrics will not matter for now since investors are more concerned about its recovery and turnaround strategy.

Starbucks stock analysis

SBUX chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the SBUX stock price bottomed at around $71 earlier this year and formed a double-bottom pattern. This is one of the most bullish patterns in the market in most periods. It has now crossed the important neckline is at $82.95. The stock has now formed a golden cross chart pattern, a popular bullish market sign. 

However, the stock has formed a rising wedge chart pattern, a popular bearish market sign. Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD indicators have formed a bearish divergence pattern.

Therefore, the stock, will likely have a bearish breakout after its earnings. If this happens, the next point will be $90. On the other hand, a move above the important resistance point at $100 will point to more gains.

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Solana price forms rare bullish pattern, closes the gap with Ethereum

Solana price continued its strong recovery this week, soaring to a high of $180, its highest level since July 31st. It has jumped by about 65% from its lowest point in September, giving it a market capitalisation of $84 billion, and a fully diluted value of $106 billion.

If Solana was a company, it would be the 160th biggest one globally. It would be bigger than companies like ABB, Shopify, Rio Tinto, and Lam Research. 

Closing the gap with Ethereum

Solana price has done well as the network continues closing the gap with Ethereum, a network that has dominated the industry for many years. 

Data shows that Ethereum has a big edge against Solana in many industries. For example, data by DeFi Llama shows that Ethereum has over 1,200 decentralized applications (dApps) in the DeFi industry, while Solana has 171.

Ethereum’s applications have a total value locked (TVL) of $50 billion, while Solana’s applications have $6.36 billion in assets. This means that Ethereum is about 8x bigger than Solana in this metric.

Ethereum is also much bigger than Solana in terms of stablecoins. It has over $83 billion stablecoins in its ecosystem, a figure that is substantially higher than Solana’s $3.7 billion.

Stablecoins have become the most important parts of the crypto industry, because of their role in money transfers. For example, it has been widely reported that highly sanctioned countries like Russia and Venezuela have embraced these coins to fund their trades. 

This happens because these stablecoins give them access to US dollars, which they may not have because of the substantial sanctions.

However, despite all this, there are signs that Solana is doing much better than Ethereum in terms of growth. 

First, the network has 7.2 million active addresses, a figure that is significantly higher than Ethereum’s 389,347. This means that Solana is more popular than Ethereum among users.

This happens because of Solana’s lower transaction costs and fast speeds, which are substantially ahead of Ethereum. This is shown by the fact that Ethereum’s fees this year have soared to $2.06 billion, while Solana has made $421 million.

Solana DEX volume is soaring

Second, Solana has become the biggest chain in the decentralized exchange (DEX) industry, an industry that Ethereum has dominated.

Data shows that Solana’s DEX networks like Raydium, Orca, Lifinity, Phoenix, and Drift. These DEX networks have handled over $51 billion in volume this month, the highest level since July.

Raydium processed $9.7 billion in the last seven days, while Orca, Lifinity, and Phoenix handled over $1 billion in assets in that period.  

Ethereum, on the other hand, handled $40 billion in October, with Uniswap and Curve Finance having the biggest market share. Only the two networks had a volume of over $1 billion, meaning that its network is dependent on Uniswap.

That is a big risk since Uniswap is now moving into the chain industry by launching UniChain, its layer 2 network, which will have lower costs and be more customizable. 

Solana’s growth is mostly because of its strong presence in the meme coin industry. Data shows that Solana meme coins have attracted a market cap of over $12 billion, a notable thing since its first meme coin, Bonk, emerged in late 2022.

Dogwifhat, the biggest Solana meme coin now has a market cap of over $2.2 billion, while Popcat, Bonk, and Cat in a dogs world have valuations of over $1 billion.

Solana meme coins have more volume than most mainstream coins each day. For example, its 24-hour trading volume was almost $3 billion, a figure that will keep growing in the near term. 

Solana has also become a big name in the Decentralized Public Infrastructure (DePIN) and artificial intelligence. Its network powers popular names in the DePIN industry like Render, Helium, and Hivemapper. 

Solana price prediction

SOL chart by TradingView

Technicals point to more Solana upside. On the daily chart, we see that the price of Solana bottomed at $110 in August as the Japanese yen carry trade unwound after the Bank of Japan delivered a surprise rate hike. 

Since then, it has bounced back, moving to a high of $180, its highest level since July 30th. It is also approaching the important resistance point at $210, the year-to-date high.

Solana has found a strong bottom at $122, where it failed to move below since April this year. Most importantly, it has now formed a golden cross as the 200-day and 50-day Weighted Moving Averages (WMA) happened. In most periods, a golden cross leads to more gains over time.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and other oscillators have continued rising. Therefore, the Solana token will likely continue rising as bulls target the year-to-date high of $210, which is about 17% above the current level.

The post Solana price forms rare bullish pattern, closes the gap with Ethereum appeared first on Invezz

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Is the Haleon share price in trouble ahead of earnings?

Haleon (HLN) share price has retreated in the past few weeks, erasing some of the gains made earlier this year. Its London stock dropped to 375p, its lowest point since August 29, while its American ADR fell to $9.90, down by 7% from its highest level this year.

Haleon is a top FMCG company

Haleon is one of the biggest companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. It emerged from GlaxoSmithKline, which spun it off into an independent company in 2022.

Since then, other companies have done that. Johnson & Johnson created Kenvue, while 3M created Solventum, which focuses on wound care, oral care, and biopharma filtration. 

Other similar firms like Novartis and Bayer have considered those moves recently, a move that will help them to streamline their operations. 

Haleon is a major player in the FMCG industry, where it sells some of the biggest brands in areas like oral health, vitamins, minerals, and supplements, respiratory, pain relief, and digestive health. 

Some of the top brands in its portfolio are Sensodyne, Parodontax, Centrum, Theraflu, Panadol, and Advil. These are highly popular brands that are sold around the world.

Haleon and other firms in the industry have gone through a difficult time in the past few years. They have faced logistical challenges, high cost of raw materials, and weak consumer spending in most countries because of inflation.

In Haleon’s case, its annual revenue came in at $13.5 billion in 2020 and then dropped to $12.9 billion in 2021. It then bounced back and reached a high of $14.4 billion last year. 

Read more: 3M healthcare spinoff Solventum slides on NYSE debut

Haleon has solid fundamentals

Analysts believe that Haleon has some of the best fundamentals in the FMCG industry. For example, unlike Kimberly-Clark and Clorox, its brands are more defensible because it has a smaller threat from private label brands.

This is notable since more people select private label brands when shopping because they are of a higher quality and often cost much less. 

Additionally, Kenvue trades at a lower valuation metrics than other companies in the industry. It has a price-to-calendar year 2025 price-to-earnings metric of 20x, much lower than other popular brands.

For example, Church & Dwight, Beiersdorf, L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, and Estee Lauder have a multiple of over 25. Similarly, other brands like Procter & Gamble and Clorox are more expensive than Haleon, despite its higher margins.

Haleon has a gross profit margin of 62.5%, higher than Kenvue’s 57.5%, Beiersdorf’s 58%, P&G’s 51%, Unilever’s 42.9%, and Church & Dwight’s 45%. Its EBITDA margin of 23% is also higher than the other companies. 

Additionally, its total returns have been relatively strong since May 2023. It has returned 16%, second only to Colgate-Palmolive, which has returned about 30%. It has beaten most of its peers in this period. 

Read more: Haleon (HLN) share price recovery faces one key hurdle

Haleon earnings ahead

The next important catalyst for the Haleon share price will be its earnings, which will come out on Friday. 

Its most recent half-year results showed that the company had an organic growth of 3.5%, with most of it happening in the second quarter. 

Most of the organic growth happened in oral health, VMS, and digestive health, whose organic revenue rose by 9.9%, and 9.2% and 4.9%, respectively. It was offset by a 4.4% and 2.3% drop in the pain relief and respiratory health segments. Haleon’s business did well because of a combination of higher volume and pricing.

Analysts expect this week’s results to show that Haleon’s revenue rose to £2,83 billion in the third-quarter. They also expect that its full-year revenue will be £11.2 billion, followed by £11.52 billion, and £12 billion in the next two financial years.

Its adjusted EBIT will also rise gradually from £2.5 billion, £2.63 billion, and £2.804 billion in the next three financial years. Therefore, the Haleon share price will do well if the company publishes strong financial results.

Analysts believe that the Haleon stock price is highly undervalued, with a 15% upside. 

Haleon share price analysis

Haleon chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the HLN share price peaked at the psychological point at 400p earlier this year. 

It has dropped below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and is inside the Ichimoku cloud indicator.

Haleon’s MACD indicator has pointed downwards and moved below the zero line. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Money Flow Index (MFI) indicators have continued moving downwards. 

Therefore, the short-term outlook for the stock is moderately bearish, with the next point to watch being at 350p. Such a move will be bullish because it is known as a break and retest pattern, which is a bullish continuation pattern.

The post Is the Haleon share price in trouble ahead of earnings? appeared first on Invezz

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Cardano price prediction: will this ghost chain rebound?

Cardano price has been left in the dust this year, as investors focused on its lagging market share across the blockchain industry and its high valuation. ADA has plunged by over 35% this year, while Bitcoin has soared by 65% and moved to its highest level on record. 

Cardano is still one of the biggest players in the crypto industry, with a market cap of over $12 billion.

The biggest ghost chain

Cardano is a blockchain network started by Charles Hoskinson in 2017, meaning that it has now turned seven years. 

It had two major claims for fame: Hoskinson was an Ethereum co-founder and its technology was backed by peer research.

Cardano then took off in 2021 as investors started to look for a climate-friendly alternative to Ethereum, which was using the proof-of-work approach at the time. 

Three years since that time, Cardano has had no major activity, which has made it one of the biggest ghost chains in the industry. The other most prominent ones are the likes of Ripple, IOTA, and EOS. 

A ghost chain is defined as a blockchain network that has no developers working on its technology. 

A good layer-1 and layer-2 network should have a good market share in industries like decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFT), decentralized public infrastructure (DePIN), and even meme coins. 

Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem

The Decentralized Finance industry is the biggest segment in the blockchain sector. As such, for any network to succeed, it needs to have a good presence in it an industry with over $90.1 billion in assets.

Unfortunately, Cardano does not have a big share in the sector. Data shows that the network has just $226 million in total value locked (TVL), making it the 27th biggest player in the sector. It only has 37 DeFi dApps in the ecosystem, including the likes of Minswap, Liqwid, Indigo, and Splash Protocol.

A $226 million TVL is a tiny amount for a blockchain network valued at over $12 billion. In contrast, Base Blockchain, which was launched by Coinbase in 2023, has accumulated 1.12 million active addresses and a TVL of $2.62 billion. 

Cardano DeFi TVL chart by TradingView

Read more: Will Cardano decline despite uptick in TVL and trading volume?

Cardano DEX networks and payments

Taking a deeper dive into Cardano’s ecosystem shows that most of the networks have little going on. For example, MinSwap, its biggest dApp is a decentralized exchange network that handled just $148,000 in transactions in the last 24 hours. SundaeSwap also handled $172k in the same period.

Altogether, all the DEX networks in Cardano handled just $17.5 million in the last seven days, making it the 33rd chain in the industry. Its DEX ecosystem is smaller than networks like Cronos, Near, Kaia, and StarkNet. 

Newer blockchains like Base, Aptos, Mantle, and Dexalot are handling more volume on a single day than what Cardano does in a week.

This performance is mostly because Cardano has no presence in the meme coin industry that has grown rapidly this year. The industry is so big such that all meme coins are now valued at over $65 billion.

Meanwhile, stablecoin-enabled payments have become the biggest part of the blockchain industry. For example, Tron handles USDT payments worth over $40 billion a day. 

In contrast, Cardano, a network that has fast speeds and low transaction costs, has just $20 million in stablecoins. 

Read more: Cardano price prediction: what’s next for ADA as Bitcoin struggles?

Cardano’s NFT volume

Another industry that Cardano should be dominating is the non-fungible token (NFT). In all fairness, the industry has imploded recently, with sales and floor prices falling. 

However, a closer look at historical data shows that Cardano did not have a sizable market share in the sector.  

According to CryptoSlam, the cumulative NFT sales in Cardano stand at over $650 million. In contrast, Ethereum has handled $44.4 billion in NFT sales, while Solana, Bitcoin, Ronin, and Polygon have all processed over $1.4 billion. 

Additionally, the network does not have a big presence in the gaming industry that is now dominated by the likes of Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and Immutable X. Its share is so low that DappRadar shows that games in its ecosystem have no Unique Active Wallet (UAW).

Therefore, these numbers mean that Cardano is one of the most overvalued assets in the crypto industry. 

Cardano price analysis

ADA chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the ADA price bottomed at $0.313, where it failed to move below several times since July 5. Its attempts to drop below that level failed at least three times, meaning that it has formed a triple-bottom pattern. 

Cardano has remained slightly below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). Therefore, while Cardano is still severely overvalued, there is a likelihood that it will have a bullish breakout. This forecast will be confirmed if it rises above the descending trendline that connects the highest swings since June 7. 

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Will Shiba Inu rally 50% after breaking key resistance?

In the cryptocurrency landscape, Shiba Inu (SHIB) is once again garnering investor attention with a notable price breakout, signalling a potential rally ahead. Following months of consolidation, SHIB’s bullish sentiment is primarily driven by recent price action and the broader market trend.

Technical indicators, including the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and rising on-chain metrics, are showing positive signs.

Traders and investors are closely watching whether SHIB will confirm the breakout by closing a daily candle above $0.000021—a move that could propel its price by as much as 50%.

Shiba Inu’s technical analysis and key price levels

SHIB’s recent price movements reveal an imminent end to its prolonged consolidation phase, having broken free from a descending trendline set since March 2024.

Traders await further confirmation, particularly a daily close above the $0.000021 level.

Should SHIB achieve this, it could initiate a powerful uptrend, targeting the $0.000029 mark.

The breakout has been supported by SHIB’s sustained position above the 200-day EMA, a key metric indicating a general upward trend.

  • Resistance at $0.000021: A daily close above this point would validate the breakout, pushing SHIB towards $0.000029, representing an approximate 50% gain.
  • 200-day EMA support: SHIB’s position above this technical line reinforces bullish momentum.

The asset’s current price action underscores the market’s positive outlook, aligned with Bitcoin’s ongoing rally, which has lent support to meme coins and altcoins alike.

However, a failure to break $0.000021 may see SHIB face renewed pressure from bears, potentially reversing its trajectory.

Shiba Inu’s promising technical indicators are mirrored by its on-chain metrics, which further validate a bullish sentiment among market participants.

According to data from Coinglass, SHIB’s Long/Short ratio currently stands at 0.97, suggesting traders are predominantly optimistic.

Will Shiba Inu sustain the rally?

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu is trading around $0.0000191, up over 6% in the past 24 hours.

During this same period, its trading volume has soared by 125%, underscoring a marked rise in investor engagement.

High trading volumes often accompany price rallies, as increased demand bolsters upward momentum, which is currently the case for SHIB.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Should SHIB maintain this trajectory and close above the critical $0.000021 level, it is well-positioned to extend its rally toward the next major resistance point at $0.000029.

The next few trading sessions will be crucial, as a sustained bullish performance will confirm whether SHIB is poised for a prolonged rally.

While optimism runs high, it is essential to consider potential risks in SHIB’s journey towards higher price levels.

Market conditions, such as Bitcoin’s price direction, may impact SHIB’s trajectory. If SHIB fails to secure a daily close above the $0.000021 level, it may face renewed selling pressure, potentially pulling its price down.

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UBS and Standard Chartered surpass Q3 profit expectations, signal growth amid strategic shifts

European banking giants UBS and Standard Chartered reported robust third-quarter earnings, outperforming market expectations and showcasing strategic growth across wealth management and international markets.

While UBS saw profits soar on the back of its integration of Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered leveraged strong performance in its wealth management division to revise its 2024 income guidance upward.

Together, these results underscore a favorable landscape for major European banks navigating evolving markets and competitive pressures.

Standard Chartered’s pre-tax profit surged 37% year-over-year, reaching $1.81 billion and surpassing analyst estimates of $1.59 billion.

The bank’s net interest income of $2.6 billion also outpaced projections.

Buoyed by its wealth management division’s record-breaking performance, the London-headquartered bank raised its 2024 income growth forecast, now expecting operating income to rise by up to 10% in 2024, up from its previous 7% projection.

CEO Bill Winters noted the bank’s focus on enhancing high-returning divisions, highlighting its investments in affluent client services as part of an ongoing shift to target more profitable segments.

Additionally, Standard Chartered’s net interest margin rose to 1.95%, up from 1.63% the previous year.

Though operating expenses increased by 3% due to inflation and business expansion, efficiency gains from the “Fit For Growth” cost-saving initiative, aimed at cutting $1.5 billion over the next three years, helped offset these costs.

Meanwhile, UBS reported a remarkable net profit of $1.43 billion, more than double the $667.5 million analysts expected.

The Swiss bank’s revenue climbed to $12.33 billion, exceeding projections and marking significant progress in its Credit Suisse integration.

Operating profit before tax came in at $1.93 billion, a sharp reversal from the $184 million loss reported in the same period last year.

The bank’s return on tangible equity rose to 7.3%, up from 5.9% in Q2, while its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio—a measure of financial stability—stood at 14.3%.

UBS is on track to complete a $1 billion share buyback by year-end, with further repurchases anticipated in 2025.

The Credit Suisse merger has also contributed to UBS’s expense reductions, with the bank projecting $7 billion in savings by year-end from the integration, part of its larger $13 billion target by 2026.

Recent client migrations in Luxembourg and Hong Kong underscore UBS’s progress in this transition, with further migrations in Singapore and Japan scheduled for completion by year-end.

CEO Sergio Ermotti is tasked with steering the combined entity amid global economic challenges, including low inflation and a resilient Swiss franc.

As UBS and Standard Chartered navigate economic uncertainty and intensified competition from US rivals, their Q3 results reflect solid progress in wealth management and strategic positioning across key markets.

The post UBS and Standard Chartered surpass Q3 profit expectations, signal growth amid strategic shifts appeared first on Invezz

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Are DIIs becoming the new owners of Indian equities as FIIs flee?

In October, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out a staggering $12 billion from Indian equities, surpassing the previous record set in March 2020.

Yet, despite these heavy withdrawals, India’s equity indices displayed resilience, thanks to unprecedented investments by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).

These domestic players stepped up in the face of FII outflows, taking local markets by storm.

With their buying momentum, DIIs may have become the largest holders of Indian equities for the first time this century, marking a shift in the ownership balance of Indian assets, a report by The Economic Times said.

The gap between FIIs and DIIs narrows

By the end of September, the gap between FII and DII ownership in NSE-listed companies had shrunk to just 109 basis points, marking a historic low.

Although full ownership data for October through December won’t be available until January, preliminary signs suggest that the trend of rising domestic ownership continued through October.

“There has been a dramatic shift in ownership in Indian capital markets over the past few quarters, with local investors taking the lead and FIIs losing influence,” commented Pranav Haldea, MD of Prime Database Group in the report.

This shift points to an evolving landscape where Indian equities are increasingly supported by local capital, which has gained resilience and scale in recent years.

Record SIPs fuel domestic market power

The growth of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) has been a crucial factor in the rise of DIIs.

Monthly SIP inflows surpassed ₹20,000 crore in April and reached a new peak of ₹24,508.73 crore by September, underscoring a growing commitment from Indian retail investors.

Each month saw an increase, with the number of new SIPs registered hitting nearly seven million in September.

The country’s mutual fund industry’s Asset Under Management (AUM) reached Rs 66.70 lakh crore in August.

This steady inflow has provided DIIs with additional resources to counterbalance FII sales, bringing stability to the market.

Prateek Agrawal, MD and CEO, of Motilal Oswal AMC, said,

Over time, domestic money has indeed shifted from other asset classes to stocks as expected amid a rising per capita disposable income.

Empowered role of DIIs in making markets more resilient

Historically, significant FII outflows would send shockwaves through the Indian stock market, often leading to sharp corrections.

However, the dynamics have changed in recent quarters as DIIs have started playing a more substantial role.

“In the past, when FIIs sold, the market would collapse, and LIC and other domestic institutions would step in to prevent further damage. Now, things have changed,” Haldea noted.

In the September quarter, DIIs invested nearly ₹1.03 lakh crore in Indian equities, compared to the ₹55,629 crore bought by FIIs, demonstrating the capacity of domestic funds to anchor market stability.

With DIIs outpacing FIIs in October, the Indian market may be witnessing a long-term shift in ownership.

As domestic capital continues to grow, bolstered by record SIP contributions and investor interest, India’s financial markets are likely to become increasingly resilient against global volatility.

The post Are DIIs becoming the new owners of Indian equities as FIIs flee? appeared first on Invezz

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Is the Haleon share price in trouble ahead of earnings?

Haleon (HLN) share price has retreated in the past few weeks, erasing some of the gains made earlier this year. Its London stock dropped to 375p, its lowest point since August 29, while its American ADR fell to $9.90, down by 7% from its highest level this year.

Haleon is a top FMCG company

Haleon is one of the biggest companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. It emerged from GlaxoSmithKline, which spun it off into an independent company in 2022.

Since then, other companies have done that. Johnson & Johnson created Kenvue, while 3M created Solventum, which focuses on wound care, oral care, and biopharma filtration. 

Other similar firms like Novartis and Bayer have considered those moves recently, a move that will help them to streamline their operations. 

Haleon is a major player in the FMCG industry, where it sells some of the biggest brands in areas like oral health, vitamins, minerals, and supplements, respiratory, pain relief, and digestive health. 

Some of the top brands in its portfolio are Sensodyne, Parodontax, Centrum, Theraflu, Panadol, and Advil. These are highly popular brands that are sold around the world.

Haleon and other firms in the industry have gone through a difficult time in the past few years. They have faced logistical challenges, high cost of raw materials, and weak consumer spending in most countries because of inflation.

In Haleon’s case, its annual revenue came in at $13.5 billion in 2020 and then dropped to $12.9 billion in 2021. It then bounced back and reached a high of $14.4 billion last year. 

Read more: 3M healthcare spinoff Solventum slides on NYSE debut

Haleon has solid fundamentals

Analysts believe that Haleon has some of the best fundamentals in the FMCG industry. For example, unlike Kimberly-Clark and Clorox, its brands are more defensible because it has a smaller threat from private label brands.

This is notable since more people select private label brands when shopping because they are of a higher quality and often cost much less. 

Additionally, Kenvue trades at a lower valuation metrics than other companies in the industry. It has a price-to-calendar year 2025 price-to-earnings metric of 20x, much lower than other popular brands.

For example, Church & Dwight, Beiersdorf, L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, and Estee Lauder have a multiple of over 25. Similarly, other brands like Procter & Gamble and Clorox are more expensive than Haleon, despite its higher margins.

Haleon has a gross profit margin of 62.5%, higher than Kenvue’s 57.5%, Beiersdorf’s 58%, P&G’s 51%, Unilever’s 42.9%, and Church & Dwight’s 45%. Its EBITDA margin of 23% is also higher than the other companies. 

Additionally, its total returns have been relatively strong since May 2023. It has returned 16%, second only to Colgate-Palmolive, which has returned about 30%. It has beaten most of its peers in this period. 

Read more: Haleon (HLN) share price recovery faces one key hurdle

Haleon earnings ahead

The next important catalyst for the Haleon share price will be its earnings, which will come out on Friday. 

Its most recent half-year results showed that the company had an organic growth of 3.5%, with most of it happening in the second quarter. 

Most of the organic growth happened in oral health, VMS, and digestive health, whose organic revenue rose by 9.9%, and 9.2% and 4.9%, respectively. It was offset by a 4.4% and 2.3% drop in the pain relief and respiratory health segments. Haleon’s business did well because of a combination of higher volume and pricing.

Analysts expect this week’s results to show that Haleon’s revenue rose to £2,83 billion in the third-quarter. They also expect that its full-year revenue will be £11.2 billion, followed by £11.52 billion, and £12 billion in the next two financial years.

Its adjusted EBIT will also rise gradually from £2.5 billion, £2.63 billion, and £2.804 billion in the next three financial years. Therefore, the Haleon share price will do well if the company publishes strong financial results.

Analysts believe that the Haleon stock price is highly undervalued, with a 15% upside. 

Haleon share price analysis

Haleon chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the HLN share price peaked at the psychological point at 400p earlier this year. 

It has dropped below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and is inside the Ichimoku cloud indicator.

Haleon’s MACD indicator has pointed downwards and moved below the zero line. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Money Flow Index (MFI) indicators have continued moving downwards. 

Therefore, the short-term outlook for the stock is moderately bearish, with the next point to watch being at 350p. Such a move will be bullish because it is known as a break and retest pattern, which is a bullish continuation pattern.

The post Is the Haleon share price in trouble ahead of earnings? appeared first on Invezz

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After ConsenSys job cuts, dYdX reduces workforce by 35%

Decentralized exchange platform dYdX has announced a 35% reduction in its workforce as it embarks on a strategic overhaul led by returning CEO Antonio Juliano.

Juliano, who resumed leadership on October 10 after a six-month hiatus, cited a need for a leaner, more focused team to steer the company through mounting industry challenges.

This restructuring aligns with Juliano’s vision to revamp dYdX, amid growing competition and recent operational setbacks.

The workforce cut comes as other crypto firms, such as Consensys, are also downsizing, with dYdX aiming to reinvigorate its core mission while maintaining operational resilience.

Can a leaner dYdX stay competitive in DeFi?

To address competitive pressures in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market, dYdX aims to streamline its operations through targeted workforce reductions.

Juliano’s return marks a shift in strategy, focusing on the company’s core strengths and innovative goals.

As DeFi faces regulatory scrutiny and tightening market conditions, a smaller team may allow dYdX to pivot more efficiently and maintain a competitive edge.

Juliano shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that laying off 35% of the workforce was “incredibly difficult and sad” but essential for dYdX’s future.

This decision reflects a broader realignment to match Juliano’s vision for the company’s trajectory, positioning dYdX to achieve long-term growth.

He expressed confidence that the restructured team can propel dYdX forward, with a renewed emphasis on clarity and direction in the DeFi space.

dYdX’s downsizing coincides with layoffs at Consensys, where over 160 employees (about 20% of its workforce) were let go.

Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin attributed the cuts to regulatory pressures, claiming that the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach stifles innovation.

These cutbacks across prominent DeFi firms highlight the challenging regulatory and economic landscape, impacting innovation and job stability in the industry.

Juliano’s absence and return

Juliano’s absence earlier in the year marked a period of turbulence for dYdX, which saw both operational and security issues.

In July, dYdX reported the compromise of its v3 website, where an attacker embedded a token-draining program, exposing users to significant risks.

The platform’s stability was also tested by potential acquisition talks for parts of its derivatives software, reportedly engaging with Wintermute Trading and Selini Capital as prospective buyers.

Juliano’s return in October underscores a need for founder-led direction amid these challenges.

Juliano’s decision to return stems from his belief in the founder’s unique commitment to a company’s mission.

In early October, he stated that “the leadership needed must come from the founder,” indicating that his investment in dYdX is essential for the company to navigate its current challenges.

This founder-led approach is poised to bring stability as the company adapts to an evolving DeFi landscape.

With the DeFi sector facing intense competition and increasing regulatory oversight, dYdX’s restructuring aims to provide a sustainable model to secure market stability.

As the company focuses on core operations under Juliano’s leadership, it looks to leverage streamlined operations for future growth.

The crypto market’s volatile nature and regulatory developments will likely test this strategy, making dYdX’s approach a critical case study in adaptive leadership within the DeFi space.

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