Brussels will probably start the trading year in the green

(ABM UN) The Brussels stock exchange looks set to start 2025 with a profit.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 index showed a gain of almost half a percent about an hour before the stock market bell on Thursday, after no trading on New Year’s Day.

Wall Street closed lower on New Year’s Eve for the fourth trading day in a row, with the Nasdaq index as a negative outlier with a loss of almost one percent. In the period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the tech index fell by 3.6 percent, from almost record levels. This morning, however, American futures turned green.

The stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai were also more than one and a half percent lower this morning, while Tokyo remained closed. Sydney and Mumbai were in the green.

In China it was announced that growth in the industry has fallen, according to measurements by Caixin and S&P Global. The purchasing managers index fell from 51.5 in November to 50.5 in December, while a small acceleration in growth was expected.

Today, the purchasing managers’ indices for industry in the eurozone and the US will also be released during the trading day.

The American oil future was 0.3 percent higher this morning to $ 71.90 per barrel.

During a shortened trading session on New Year’s Day, the Bel20 rose another 0.9 percent on Tuesday to a closing position of 4,264.53 points, bringing the annual gain to approximately 15 percent. points. Pharmaceutical companies in particular had an excellent year.

The broadly composed Stoxx Europe 600 rose by only 6 percent last year. The European main indicator therefore performed significantly less than its American counterparts. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow ended the trading year with gains of 23 percent, 29 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

The enthusiasm on Wall Street around artificial intelligence was an important driver for the ‘Magnificent Seven’ shares, which now account for approximately one third of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500. Thanks to an increase of 170 percent, chip manufacturer Nvidia exchanged pennies with Apple several times. for the title of the world’s most expensive company by market value.

Apple rose 30 percent last year and ended the year convincingly as the most valuable company with a market value of $3,785 billion.

Outlook Bel20

The Bel20 has had “a really decent year” in 2024 and the question is for Frank Vranken of Edmond de Rothschild whether this can be repeated in 2025.

Click here for: Bel20 can perform better than the European average in 2025

To answer this question, Franken thinks it is a good idea to first look at the composition of the star index.

Real estate has experienced an “annus horribilis”, but at current levels these shares, which provide a solid dividend yield of more than 7 percent, are now attractive according to Franken.

For pharmaceuticals, which is “defensive growth”, Vranken is counting on a better year. Fears about the appointment of ‘anti-vaxxer’ Robert Kennedy as the new Secretary of Health in the US have now been discounted.

For industrial values, such as Solvay and Syensqo, Edmond de Rothschild’s expert is a lot more cautious. These shares could well remain paralyzed in 2025.

Vranken is more positive about the holdings, “with interesting participations here and there”. They “absolutely” still have potential for 2025.

The Bel20 is a defensive index compared to other indices and may well do slightly better than the European average in 2025, “but I don’t expect 2025 to be like 2024 was,” Vranken looked ahead in front of the camera of ABM Financial News on Euronext Brussels.

Company news

Berenberg lowered the price target for Solvay from 35.00 to 32.00 euros, while maintaining the Hold recommendation.

Wall Street closing positions on Tuesday

The S&P 500 lost 0.4 percent to 5,881.63 points on December 31 and the Nasdaq closed down 0.9 percent to 19,310.79 points. The Dow Jones index fell 0.1 percent to 42,544.22 points.

Door: ABM Financial News.
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Bron: ABM Financial News

ABM Financial News is the supplier of stock market news in the Benelux. The information in this article is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.