stocks, news, data and earnings

German pharma firm Bayer topped afternoon trading in Europe, posting a 4.5% gain after saying its new blood clot drug could make more than 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in annual sales.

Meanwhile, Belgium shipping firm Euronav remained in the doldrums with a 19% share price decline on news of the collapse of its potential merger with rival Frontline.

Overall, the Stoxx 600 index came off Monday’s eight-month high with a 0.65% fall, as caution returned to markets.

— Jenni Reid

Stocks moved higher in the first minutes of the trading day.

All three indexes traded up within 15 minutes of the opening bell.

The Dow led the way, up just under 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each gained 0.1%.

— Alex Harring

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday stressed the need for the central bank to be free of political influence while it tackles persistently high inflation.

In a speech delivered to Sweden’s Riksbank, Powell noted that stabilizing prices requires making tough decisions that can be unpopular politically.

“Price stability is the bedrock of a healthy economy and provides the public with immeasurable benefits over time. But restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy,” the chair said in prepared remarks.

The speech did not contain any direct clues about where policy is ahead for a Fed that raised interest rates seven times in 2022, for a total of 4.25 percentage points, and has indicated that more increases likely are on the way this year.

Read the full story here.

David Neuhauser, chief investment officer of hedge fund Livermore Partners, said Tesla’s stock had been “nothing short of a disaster” for investors after shares in the company declined by more than 65% in the past year. Neuhauser has shorted Tesla shares.

European interest rates will still “have to rise significantly” to get inflation down to 2% in a “timely” fashion, European Central Bank (ECB) Economist Isabel Schnabel said at an event organized by the Swedish Riksbank, according to Reuters.

She said inaction by the bank now would only mean more aggressive action at a later stage, which would impact both the broader economy and the green energy transition.

Schnabel added that the ECB needs to step up efforts to make its stock of bonds more green.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Renaud Foucart, senior lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University, outlines what to expect from French President Emmuanuel Macron’s upcoming pension reform.

Shares of Euronav plunged more than 20% in early trade after Norwegian rival Frontline pulled out of a potential $4.2 billion merger with the Belgian oil shipping company.

British wargame manufacturer Games Workshop fell 5.6% after its half-year earnings report.

– Elliot Smith

Beijing’s sudden and rapid dismantling of its stringent Covid-19 controls after nearly three years has raised hopes that its battered economy could follow a similarly rapid pace of recovery.

From hotels and airlines, to “less obvious beneficiaries,” Wall Street analysts name their top Chinese and global stocks to play the reopening.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

European markets are heading for a lower open as investors gear up for more inflation data later this week, with U.S. consumer price data for December due Thursday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 49 points lower at 7,676, Germany’s DAX 95 points lower at 14,698, France’s CAC down 52 points at 6,855 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 204 points at 25,181, according to data from IG.

Data releases Tuesday include Dutch inflation figures for December and U.K. British Retail Consortium retail sales figures for December. Airbus will announce its annual commercial aircraft orders and deliveries.

— Holly Ellyatt