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| This week's gainers and losers |
| Up: Insmed Inc +34.11% : The biotech surged after announcing strong phase 2 trial results for its inhaled pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment, TPIP, which met both primary and secondary goals. The company now plans to initiate two phase 3 trials, starting with one targeting pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) by year-end. Oklo +26.59%: The company announced a $400 million public offering and revealed it had tentatively secured a key contract to supply nuclear energy to Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The stock has tripled in 2025, driven by pro-nuclear policies from President Trump and rising demand for energy to power data centers and AI development. Oracle +10.83%: The software and infrastructure giant has published results confirming the strong momentum of its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure platform, with a solid order book for its new fiscal year. Dollarama +10.02%: The Canadian discount retailer soared after reporting excellent results. The expansion of its Dollarcity subsidiary in Latin America contributed significantly to growth. Down: AAON -24.5%: The stock fell after Investor Day as its three-year revenue and margin targets disappointed investors, despite a strategic focus on innovation and efficiency. Chewy -13.57%: The pet product specialist has published quarterly results that have been poorly received by the market. The stock, which was already highly volatile, is suffering from a decline in margins that has disappointed investors. Gitlab -15.46%: The company beat Wall Street expectations with strong fiscal Q1 2026 sales and earnings, but the stock dropped as much as 14% due to underwhelming forward sales guidance. While earnings guidance exceeded expectations, investor concerns over slower projected revenue growth triggered a sell-off. BioNtech -1.77%: The German laboratory listed in New York has acquired its rival CureVac to accelerate cancer research. But the market remains cautious. Given the difficulties of recent quarters, the fate of the operation seems rather uncertain at this stage. |
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| Commodities |
Energy: Escalating tensions in the Middle East caused oil prices to skyrocket over the weekend. The Israeli army launched air strikes on Iran, targeting its nuclear and military facilities. The Israeli attacks targeted several sensitive sites, including the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Although Iran's oil facilities were spared, the risk of disruption to shipping lanes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world's oil passes, is heightening market concerns. Against this backdrop, nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States appear to be heading toward an impasse, even though a meeting between US and Iranian delegations is still scheduled for Sunday in Oman. At the same time, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has revised downwards its forecast for US crude oil production in 2026, predicting a decline of 50,000 barrels per day compared to the previous year. In terms of prices, Brent and WTI crude oil prices rose by around 11% over the week, both breaking through the USD 70 mark. Brent is trading at around USD 74, compared with USD 71.20 for the US benchmark. Metals: Gold reached its highest level in nearly two months. The precious metal remains buoyed by increased demand as a safe haven amid tensions in the Middle East following Israel's strikes against Iran. Gold is also benefiting from falling bond yields following the latest US economic data, which showed moderate inflation in the United States. The precious metal is trading around $3,420. Industrial metals, on the other hand, showed mixed movements. Copper fell slightly due to waning optimism after the Sino-US negotiations. The price of copper fell to $9,700 per tonne (spot price). Agricultural products: In Chicago, wheat futures fell this week, mainly due to weak US exports despite the decline in the US dollar. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised downwards its wheat stock forecasts for the end of the 2025/26 season for the United States. Wheat is trading at around 530 cents per bushel (July 2025 contract). |
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| Macroeconomics |
Macro: Just when everything seemed under control and we were looking forward to a smooth weekend, Israel's attack on Iran threw a spanner in the works for investors, causing renewed nervousness, particularly in commodities, with oil and gold leading the way. Despite everything, equity markets posted limited losses overall, with average trading volumes, suggesting that the financial community does not seriously envisage the region going up in flames. Bond yields even tightened slightly once the initial shock had passed, again illustrating the absence of a flight to quality. However, we will monitor developments closely and adjust our investment choices accordingly, both in terms of asset class and geographical region. Crypto: Bitcoin (BTC) remained stable this week, hovering around $105,000. The crypto asset had started the week on a high note, jumping more than 4% on Monday, before retreating amid geopolitical tensions and risk aversion. On the other hand, Bitcoin Spot ETFs continue to accumulate BTC, with these exchange-traded products recording more than $1 billion in net inflows since Monday — a sign that institutional commitment remains strong for the time being. In total, no less than $130 billion worth of Bitcoin has been accumulated in ETFs in the U.S., representing more than 6% of all Bitcoin in circulation. Special mention goes to BlackRock's IBIT ETF, which has become the fastest ETF in history to reach $70 billion in assets under management, in just 341 days. This is a record for all ETFs. Ether (ETH) suffered more, falling 3.5% to around $2,550, while Solana (SOL) fell 4.3% to $145. |
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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. |
