Procter & Gamble reported higher earnings than expected, fell short on sales despite price increases, and reiterated its financial guidance. As a huge consumer-products company, with brands spanning from Tide laundry detergent to Bounty paper towels, the company tends to serve as an indicator of what is going on with the spending habits of the average shopper. For its first fiscal quarter, Procter & Gamble reported core earnings of $1.93 per share, beating Wall Street’s call for $1.90, according to FactSet. Net sales of $21.7 billion were below the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion and fell 1% from the year-ago quarter. Volume was flat, while prices rose 1%. P&G maintained its outlook for 2025 all-in sales growth to a range of 2% to 4% from a year ago, and repeated its forecast for core earnings per share, which equates to a range of $6.91 to $7.05. Analysts had penciled in earnings of $6.96. Delivering on sales appears to be key for the stock to perform well on earnings day, if the past is any indication. For its fourth fiscal quarter, P&G beat earnings estimates but fell short on sales despite higher prices. The stock dropped 4.8% on July 30, its largest percentage decline in nearly two years, according to Dow Jones Market Data. And indeed, that pattern appears to be continuing on Friday after sales disappointed again. P&G stock fell 0.1% to $171.38. Through Thursday’s close, P&G stock had gained 17% this year.

On Friday, the SMI rose by 0.2 per cent to 12,327 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 16 price gainers and 4 price losers. A total of 19.71 (previously: 22.25) million shares were traded. Luxury goods manufacturers Swatch (+2.2%) and Richemont (+0.8%) were particularly sought after. The shares of index heavyweight Novartis were little changed. The pharmaceutical group obtained a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to authorise the cancer drug Kisqali. Novartis disclosed that the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a favourable opinion on Kisqali for the adjuvant treatment of adults with a type of early-stage breast cancer, the most common type of cancer in Europe. The shares of chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut improved by 4.3 per cent thanks to an upgrade to ‘overweight’ by Morgan Stanley. Geberit climbed 1.5 per cent following a ‘buy’ recommendation from Goldman Sachs.

Europe
Stock indexes in Europe were mostly higher, although gains were limited, as investors digested earnings and the latest economic data from China. The wobbly data for the third quarter underscores challenges for Beijing policymakers seeking to boost economic activity and prompted hopes of further stimulus. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 525 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 advanced by 0.4% each, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt. On the other hand, the FTSE 100 fell by 0.3% in London. Over the week as a whole, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.6%. European luxury goods stocks performed particularly well. Investors were relieved by the resilience of the Chinese economy in the third quarter. Kering gained 3.5%, while LVMH and Hermès rose by 2.3% and 1.1% respectively. In Milan, Moncler picked up 2.1%, while in Zurich, Richemont and Swatch advanced by 0.8% and 2.6% respectively. Veterinary laboratory Virbac (-12.6%) suffered a greater-than-expected slowdown in growth in the third quarter, penalized by lower organic sales in the United States and the Pacific region. Casino (+1.3%) confirmed plans for a compulsory buyout of its subsidiary Cnova, which groups together its e-commerce activities, including the online retailer Cdiscount. Energy producer TotalEnergies (-0.2%) reported on Friday having signed an agreement with Brazilian group SIM Distribuidora to sell its fuel distribution activities in Brazil.

United States
The New York Stock Exchange ended at its highest level ever on Friday, at the end of a week marked by good economic indicators and numerous corporate results. After opening slightly lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finally surpassed its previous day's record, climbing 0.4% to 43,275.91 points. The broad S&P 500 index also climbed to a new all-time high, gaining 0.4% to 5,864.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 18,489.55 points. Wall Street benefited this week from a salvo of indicators allaying fears of a sharp slowdown in the economy. Over the week as a whole, the DJIA gained almost 1%, the S&P 500 added 0.9% and the Nasdaq 0.8%. Netflix (+11%) published higher results on Thursday evening despite slower subscriber gains than in the past, in line with its objective of prioritising profitability over growth. Health insurer CVS Health fell by 5.2% after announcing the replacement of its chief executive Karen Lynch and issuing a warning about its results for the current quarter. Apple shares gained 1.2% after the publication of a study by Counterpoint Research showing that Apple's new iPhone 16 is selling much faster in China than its predecessor. American Express (-3.2%) reported better-than-expected results and met its full-year forecasts but was disappointed by a fall in merchant fees. American Express (-3.2%) reported better-than-expected results and met its full-year forecasts, although lower commissions from merchants disappointed. Oil services group Schlumberger (-4.7%) delivered better-than-expected results for the third quarter, yet its revenues fell short of consensus as some of its oil producer clients "are cautious in their spending" due to lower oil prices. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies such as Alibaba increased on Friday, following market rallies in Hong Kong and mainland China. China’s central bank said it could soon cut interest rates again and kicked off a re-lending program and a swap facility.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Monday. The Chinese central bank (PBoC), which has cut interest rates more sharply than the market had expected, is providing further tailwind. In Hong Kong, however, share prices are falling despite these measures. The Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.6 per cent. In Shanghai, the Composite Index increased by 0.8 per cent. JA Solar improved by the daily limit of 10 per cent, Trina Solar by 8.3 per cent and Xinyi Solar by 4.4 per cent. The Kospi in Seoul also extended its gains following the PBoC interest rate cut and is now up 0.9 per cent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3 per cent to 39,079 points.

Bonds
Long-dated Treasury yields slipped from their highest levels in more than two months on Friday, but ended the week little changed, after data showed new-home construction dipped in September. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped one basis point to 4.082%. The 2-year Treasury note yield fell by 2 basis points to 3.965%.

Analysis
UBS lowers Nestle target to CHF 83 (91) - Neutral
GS downgrades Richemont to Neutral (Buy)/target CHF 128 (132) - Trader
UBS raises target Swiss Re to CHF 106 (101) - Sell

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