SMI reste légèrement positif avant son lancement, Meta atteint un tout nouveau sommet

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) was up slightly by 0.4% before opening, driven by positive developments in the US markets. Stock traders continued to focus on interest rate developments and oil prices, while the economic forecast by KOF on Friday added a focus point. In US after-hours trading, MGM Resorts’ shares fell 8.6% after the takeover bid from Barry Diller was withdrawn. By contrast, the Vaneck Space ETF rose 4.5%, while S&P 500 indices showed little movement and sector prices remained within narrow ranges. Asian markets, such as the Nikkkei 225, rose by 1.2%, with trading volumes remaining low due to public holidays. Yield spreads on Japanese government bonds hit historical highs since 1996, reflecting rising borrowing costs and inflation worries. In Japan, the weakening of the yen was discussed in political talks between US President Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with the dollar losing ground against the yen and other currencies, although it gained ground on a weekly basis on expectations of further Fed rate hikes. Oil prices remained essentially stable amid geopolitical developments, with Brent crude decreasing 0.7% and WTI 1.6%. US equity markets remained directionless on Thursday and ended with minimal losses. Meta soared 4.5% to $777.59, hitting a more than year high and approaching its 2025 record. The company’s value rose 35% to around $2 trillion in September. Analysts praised the launch of the Muse AI assistant and partnerships with companies such as Walmart and Shopify. Oracle and Dropbox, however, posted losses of 3.5% and 4.6% respectively, with Oracle facing structural hurdles in building a new data centre and Dropbox being recommended for sale by Citigroup. MGM Resorts’ shares fell 11% after the media group People withdrew its takeover bid.