The expanding conflict in the Middle East continues to strain energy markets. Brent has touched $114 a barrel after gaining about 1% in the last day and more than 5% since the start of the week, while West Texas has topped $100 with a 1.5% rise. Natural gas on the Dutch TTF has jumped more than 3% to above €93 per megawatt-hour. European stock markets opened cautiously, with the Ibex 35 flat.
Prysmian completed its acquisition of US-based Atkore, a specialist in electrical infrastructure solutions, under the merger agreement signed on August 2, 2026. It paid $95 per share in cash, implying an enterprise value of about $3.8 billion ($3.3 billion euros). The deal aims to strengthen its position in the United States and broaden its electrification offering, with more than 60 manufacturing and distribution sites in the country.
Deckers Brands, owner of Hoka and UGG, closed the second quarter of its fiscal 2027, ended September 30, with net sales of 1.481 billion dollars, up 3.5% year on year but below the 1.510 billion expected by the market. The company raised its full-year earnings per share guidance to 7.80-7.95 dollars, while cutting its revenue guidance to 5.700-5.725 billion. Hoka grew 6.8% and UGG 3.5%, while the direct-to-consumer channel fell 1.8%.
Indian group Welspun has called representatives of the Tubos Reunidos works council in Trapaga (Vizcaya) for next Monday to provide details of its bid for the company, according to union sources. Welspun is one of the five bidders selected in the sale process. All five proposals envisage staff cuts and changes to working conditions, and the highest offer is 27.5 million euros for the Trapagaran plant. The process is conditioned by debt of around 300 million euros, of which 150 million is owed to SEPI.
Markets face the last session of the week awaiting October's preliminary manufacturing and services PMIs in Europe and the US, which will signal how economies are coping with higher rates and fourth-quarter demand. In Asia, Japan's September CPI inflation accelerated to 2.1% year-on-year and its preliminary manufacturing PMI fell to 53.3. In Australia, the services PMI dropped to 47.8. American Express reports earnings before the open.
Scott Davis, US equity manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, says the main risk for the US stock market is that the momentum in technology, particularly artificial intelligence, comes to a halt. The firm estimates S&P 500 earnings per share will grow 27% this year to $352 and 23% in 2027 to $434, with technology as the main driver. Without that boost, index earnings would grow around 10%.
Wall Street closed with a sharp selloff driven by concerns over capital spending on artificial intelligence and its future profitability. The Nasdaq fell about 2.6%, its worst day since June, and broke below its 100-day moving average; the S&P 500 lost more than 1.2% and only the Dow Jones ended with a symbolic gain. Meta (−8%), Amazon (−5.1%) and Nvidia (−4.4%) led the declines, while Apple rose about 0.9%. The pullback spread to Asian markets.
Lleida-based SAS Group acquired a majority stake in Afrikelp, a Cape Town producer specializing in algae-based biostimulants. It is its sixth acquisition since 2023, following Biovert, Pevesa Agroscience, Aqua do Brasil, Codiagro and Ceres Biotics. Afrikelp, with more than 50 years of history, holds an exclusive concession to harvest Ecklonia maxima seaweed and a patented cold micronization process. It will keep operating under its own brand from its Cape Town plant.
Samantha Ricciardi, Head of EMEA at Fidelity International, outlined the industry's trends at the firm's European Media Summit in London: the need for citizens to take greater responsibility for their financial future, the rise of advice and the growth of ETFs, especially actively managed ones. She warned that public pension accounts "simply don't add up" and cited Germany's Altersvorsorgedepot model as an example to mobilise the 13 trillion euros in deposits held by Europeans.
Brent crude traded at $113.73 a barrel, its highest since May, on concerns over the war with Iran and rising shipping costs. Doubts about AI spending drove the S&P 500's worst session since July, with declines in Nvidia, Meta, Tesla and CoreWeave. Investors sought refuge in US debt: the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.97%. The French 10-year yield held around 5.07%.
European stock markets opened the last session of the week with slight losses. The Ibex falls 0.3% and trades below 18,900 points, after dropping 2% on Thursday. A heavy sell-off in technology shares and rising oil prices, with Brent above $114 a barrel, weigh on the market. Investors are seeking refuge in US debt and the 10-year Treasury yield falls below 5%.
Solaria abandoned the 14.62-euro support on Thursday, according to a technical analysis, after forming a pullback to the 200-session moving average, which confirms a long-term trend change. The analysis says it expects further declines in the coming sessions, with possible levels at 12 euros and without ruling out 10 euros. A sign of strength would only appear if the 18.77-euro resistance is overcome.
Shell and ExxonMobil are exploring the sale of their joint chemicals unit Infineum, based in the United Kingdom, for about $8 billion, according to the Financial Times. The joint venture, owned 50% by each oil major, is said to have hired Bank of America advisers to manage the deal, which is expected to launch in the coming days and could attract private equity funds. The process is at an early stage and may not result in a transaction. Infineum makes additives for engine oils, fuels and industrial applications.
Grupo Bimbo has accumulated a 520 million euro impairment abroad on its subsidiaries in Argentina, China and Morocco, according to the latest accounts of Bakery Iberian Investments, the Spanish company that channels the management of those assets, at the close of 2025. Argentina accounts for the largest loss, at 362.5 million, followed by China with 111.5 million and Morocco with close to 45 million. In Venezuela the company writes off all the money it contributes to its subsidiary.
Elon Musk said merging SpaceX and Tesla "would be a good idea", after months of speculation, and said both companies had formed special committees to discuss it. A Wall Street Journal analysis says the deal could benefit Musk by bringing his businesses together, but warns of a possible "conglomerate discount" that would hurt Tesla shareholders most. The companies already have ties: Tesla sells cars, batteries and energy infrastructure to SpaceX, they collaborate on Terafab, and Tesla has invested $2 billion in SpaceX.
A Citi report on Spanish banking examines so-called deposit sweeping: user-created AI agents that move their liquidity across several accounts to maximize remuneration. According to Bank of Spain data at the end of August, households hold 1.104 trillion euros in current accounts and deposits and companies another 366.5 billion, with overnight deposits paying 0.16% to households and 0.52% to companies. Citi estimates an average position of 23,000 euros per customer.
France faces a projected fiscal deficit of 5.4% of GDP, above the 3% set by eurozone rules, and public debt of 119.3% of GDP, a record since 1978. The risk premium hit its highest level since 2011 and French 10-year bonds yield around 5%, compared with 3.4% for German bonds. Emmanuel Macron's government proposes cutting the deficit to 5% by 2027 through spending cuts, while protesters and unions demand more state investment.
L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics company, said the boom in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, known by brands such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro, is boosting sales of beauty and skincare products. CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said on an investor call that the phenomenon is having an impact on consumption of these products. The company reported a 7.7% rise in third-quarter sales, above analysts' expectations.
Banco Hipotecario of Argentina extended from six to eight years the term of its UVA-denominated personal loan line for buying or building industrialized homes, aiming to lower the initial installment and the income required to qualify. The line finances up to 100% of the home's value, with a 15% rate, a maximum of 50,000 UVA and a network of more than 145 affiliated companies nationwide.
Apple shares are up 27% this year and are the biggest contributor to the S&P 500's 12% gain, as well as the best performer among the Magnificent Seven. According to Bloomberg, the company has largely stayed on the sidelines of the heavy AI infrastructure spending by Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta, and its correlation with the chip index is negative. On Thursday it was the only Magnificent Seven stock to close higher while the broader market fell.
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