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| This week's gainers and losers |
| Up: Merus +36.87%: The Dutch biotech company listed on the Nasdaq was acquired by Denmark's Genmab for $8 billion in cash, or $97 per share. Merus is developing a treatment for head and neck cancers, petosemtamab, which is currently in phase III and could hit the market as early as 2027. Western Digital +22.86%: The group is benefiting from positive commercial news for memory manufacturers, thanks to the impact of AI. Morgan Stanley has reiterated its positive opinion on the stock, dramatically raising its target price from $99 to $171. Pfizer +15.19%: The entire global pharmaceutical industry welcomed the terms of the first agreement signed between the White House and a laboratory (Pfizer in this case), which is seen as a template for others. The terms of the compromise are less unfavorable than the scenario initially envisaged, which raised fears of massive tariffs and forced price cuts. Several players in the sector (laboratories, medical equipment manufacturers) gained more than 10% this week, from A for AstraZeneca to Z for Zealand Pharma, including Roche and Merck KGaA. Robinhood +22.08%: The broker, one of the stock market stars of the year, continues to enjoy a buying trend, with the stock already up 250% in 2025. Over the weekend, the company's CEO revealed that Robinhood has begun testing fully digital banking services with a limited number of customers. JD Sports +16.07%: The sportswear retailer followed in the footsteps of its supplier Nike, whose quarterly results reassured investors, even if they were not spectacular. Fair Isaac +21.85%: The stock soared on Thursday after the announcement of a new credit score licensing offer directly to mortgage lenders, bypassing the role of credit bureaus as intermediaries. Equifax and Experian are particularly affected.Down: Tate & Lyle -18.82%: The manufacturer of food ingredients for mass consumption failed to impress, despite promising signs in recent months. The transformative acquisition of CP Kelco has yet to generate synergies, while market conditions remain challenging in North America and Europe. Annual expectations have been revised downward. DraftKings -16.42%: The sports betting and fantasy sports company faces intense competition from players such as Robinhood and Kalshi. The latter in particular is growing rapidly thanks to the large amounts of money being wagered. Rivian -12.44%: The electric vehicle manufacturer has reduced its delivery target range following the cancellation of a $7,500 federal tax rebate. In addition, Amazon has begun testing electric delivery vans developed by GM, raising concerns about future collaboration between the two companies. Amazon currently remains the largest shareholder ahead of Volkswagen. MercadoLibre -11.98% : Amazon is planning a new expansion in Brazil, where MercadoLibre generates more than half of its revenue. Competition in the South American e-commerce market is becoming increasingly fierce.Exxon Mobil -3.38% : The oil giant announced on Tuesday the elimination of 2,000 jobs worldwide. Several companies in the sector have already made similar announcements. The decline in oil prices is forcing cost-cutting measures. |
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| Commodities |
Energy: Oil prices continue to fall, reaching levels not seen in five months. Brent crude for December delivery fell to $64, while WTI fell to $60.5. These declines follow speculation about a possible further increase in OPEC+ production of 137,000 barrels per day in November. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the group's leaders, are set to meet this weekend to finalize this decision. Despite the constraints on the expanded cartel to maintain this pace of production, the global market could enter into surplus, with the International Energy Agency forecasting record surpluses for next year. In the background, geopolitics remains an important factor in the equation influencing crude oil prices. We are referring to Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian refineries far behind the front line. Metals: Gold broke through the $3,800 per ounce mark for the first time, reaching a high of $3,897. In the short term, this smooth momentum is supported by concerns about the US government shutdown and expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The price of gold has risen 47% since the beginning of the year, a remarkable run attributable to central bank purchases, increased interest in ETFs, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Copper prices continued to rise in London. The three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange is currently trading at $10,490 per ton, an increase attributed to supply disruptions, mainly in Indonesia and Chile. Agricultural products: Grains are back on a downward trend in Chicago, a trend they have not strayed from for quite some time. Corn and wheat contracts all closed lower at 420 cents per bushel for corn and 513 cents for wheat (December 2025 contracts). Soybeans continue to suffer from the trade war with China, prompting China to turn to other suppliers. Favorable weather conditions have accelerated corn and wheat harvests in the United States, putting downward pressure on prices. In addition, the USDA noted in its latest report a decrease in corn stocks compared to the previous year, but the expected record harvest should help replenish stocks.
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| Macroeconomics |
| Macro: Although the first Friday of the month is traditionally devoted to the publication of the employment report, this year investors are left empty-handed. No data is available due to the shutdown that is shaking up US government agencies. To kill time, traders are therefore focusing on ancillary data to get an idea of the labor market. The ADP survey shows significant signs of a slowdown, pushing bond yields down in anticipation of further monetary easing. Despite this, the 2-year remains above a key support level of 3.50%, which has not prevented the S&P 500 from setting new record highs. Be careful, gold is now overbought, while the dollar index remains above 96.20. As these two markets are correlated, we will be closely monitoring movements in the greenback to avoid getting caught out on the yellow metal. Crypto: September is statistically the worst month of the year for Bitcoin: over the last twelve years, it has posted an average return of -3.08%. But in 2025, the cryptocurrency defied expectations, with an increase of +5.38%. October, on the other hand, is historically a statistically prosperous month: +20.63% on average since 2012, making it the second-best month of the year behind November (+46% on average). And October is off to a flying start: in just a few days, Bitcoin has already gained +5.5% and is back above $120,000, just $4,500 shy of its all-time high in August. This week's surge is being driven in particular by BlackRock, which has increased its exposure to Bitcoin in its Global Allocation Fund by 38%. The American giant now holds $66.4 million via its IBIT ETF, representing an allocation of 0.4% of the fund's $17.1 billion in assets (compared to 0.25% in the first quarter). This is enough to spark enthusiasm among crypto investors. Other cryptocurrencies are also off to a flying start in October: ether (ETH) is up 8% and flirting with $4,500, Solana (SOL) is up 10% to $230, and XRP (XRP) is up 6.5% to around $3. |
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| Things to read this week | ||||||
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*The weekly movements of indexes and stocks displayed on the dashboard are related to the period ranging from the open on Monday to the sending time of this newsletter on Friday. The weekly movements of commodities, precious metals and currencies displayed on the dashboard are related to a 7-day rolling period from Friday to Friday, until the sending time of this newsletter. These assets continue to quote on weekends. |
