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(Bloomberg) --
Good morning. The coronavirus death toll is still rising, the luxury-goods market has much to contend with and Apple beat estimates. Here’s what’s moving markets.
Coronavirus Responses
The death toll continues to tick higher in China and the number of people now said to have been infected by coronavirus has now topped the official numbers given for SARS. Governments around the world are weighing their response to the virus, with the U.S. said to have considered the possibility of a China flight ban, though it has no immediate plans to impose one. Shares in Hong Kong, which had been closed this week for the Lunar New Year break, slumped as they returned to trading but otherwise it's a mixed picture for markets as signs of stabilization materialize.
Luxury Woes
Recent history has been eventful for Europe’s luxury-goods industry. Trade tensions, a slowing Chinese economy, protests in Hong Kong and now the coronavirus outbreak have created consistent headwinds which started to sap growth at behemoth LVMH in the final months of 2019. The Louis Vuitton owner saw its sales growth slow down in the fourth quarter as the Hong Kong protests hit demand, a pattern echoed by smaller Italian house Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, which missed expectations due to a sluggish end to the year.
Apple Beats
It could prove to be a messy day for direction in the European tech sector. Giant Apple Inc.’s sales for the key holiday period and its projection for revenue in the current quarter both topped expectations on a recovery in demand for the iPhone, giving its shares a lift in extended trading in the U.S. and which is likely to read well for its European suppliers. But there’s a possibility there could also be pockets of underperformance in the semiconductor sector after chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Xilinx Inc. both missed estimates, indicating the picture outside of Apple is not as rosy as one may like.
Huawei Conundrum
The U.K.’s decision to allow Chinese telecoms group Huawei Technologies Co. a partial role in developing the country’s new 5G network not only opens up the potential for other networking firms to get in on the action but it creates a potential flash point with the U.S., which has already expressed its disappointment that the U.K. has allowed Huawei in. It’s going to be a delicate balance for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to strike given the potential that the decision, made in the week when Brexit will finally happen, could create tensions with the U.S. just as Britain needs to get a trade deal done.
Coming Up…
The Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision will come this evening European time, with expectations it will remain on hold but likely face questions about plans to slow its asset purchases plus any views from policymakers on the potential coronavirus fallout. We’ll have a smattering of economic data in Europe, including consumer confidence from France and Italy respectively, while Spanish lender Banco Santander SA just reported fourth-quarter net income that topped estimates and Swiss drug giant Novartis AG fell short.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours.
- Kobe Bryant’s helicopter lacked a terrain warning device.
- U.S. banks prep for a Brexit beating.
- Giant batteries have a fire problem.
- Sundance is a streaming service showdown this year.
- The chicken sandwich war’s impact on small birds.
- Match Group’s CEO stepped down.
- The death of CollegeHumor.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net
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