European Midday Briefing : Stocks Weighed by US -2-

Shares in Zur Rose Group AG almost doubled in opening trade after the online pharmacist said it reached a deal to divest its operations in its home country, Switzerland, to Migros Group, as it looks to focus on its business in Germany.

At 0807GMT, shares traded 92% higher at CHF75.

CaixaBank 4Q Net Profit Rose 62% on Year

Spain's CaixaBank SA said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 62% compared with the same period a year earlier, thanks to higher net interest income.

The bank reported net profit of 688 million euros ($750.6 million) over October to December, beating analysts' expectations for net profit of EUR632 million, according to a consensus forecast provided by the bank.

TomTom Shares Rise on Narrowed 4Q Net Loss, Higher Revenue

Shares in TomTom NV rose 9% in early trade Friday after the company reported a narrowed net loss for the fourth quarter of the year on revenue that was boosted by its biggest location technology unit.

Shares at 0814 GMT were up 63 European Cents at EUR7.57.

Impala Platinum Sees 1H Ebitda Broadly Unchanged on Year

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. said Friday that it expects to report earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the half year ended Dec. 31 in line with the comparable period the prior year of 24.5 billion South African Rand ($1.43 billion).

The South African platinum miner said concentrate production was unchanged compared with the half year ended Dec. 31, 2021 at 1.62 million ounces, while production from managed operations was 2% higher at 1.18 million ounces. Group refined production fell 9% to 1.48 million ounces.

Ukraine Hopes New Bombs From U.S. Will Help It Push Back Russia

ORIKHIV, Ukraine-Ukraine last summer stunned Russian troops with precision strikes from U.S.-supplied Himars mobile rocket launchers. Now an even more potent rocket system holds the potential to re-energize Kyiv's troops.

U.S. officials are expected Friday to say they will give Ukraine new Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, precision-guided, 250-pound explosives that are strapped to rockets and can be fired from a Himars or another launcher. The armament, which has never been deployed and is only at the start of production, has a range of roughly 94 miles, or around twice the range of current Himars shells.

GLOBAL NEWS

Jobs Report to Show Whether Labor Market Cooling Extended Into January

January's employment report will offer clues about the state of the labor market and overall economy at the start of 2023.

Recent figures paint a mixed picture of U.S. economic health. Consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth, is starting to falter. Manufacturing activity is declining. Price increases are easing, partly as a result of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increases aimed at slowing the economy to bring down high inflation.

Bitcoin Prices Rally as Larger Traders Take Charge

Larger investors appear to be powering a recovery in bitcoin prices, as the sway of smaller individual traders over cryptocurrency markets wanes.

Based on end-of-day trading prices, bitcoin has rallied about 51% from a nadir hit in November, after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was quoted late Thursday at about $23,600, and drifted slightly lower in early trading Friday. Other tokens such as ether and dogecoin have also rebounded. The recovery mirrors a rebound in other risky assets, such as some high-growth technology stocks.

Stocks are at Wall Street's year-end target. It's only early February.

Just like last year, Wall Street strategists look pretty wrong about their expectations for stock-market performance in 2023. But this time around, they're in the unusual position of having been too pessimistic.

Back in December, MarketWatch collected year-end price targets for the S&P 500 from 18 investment banks and brokerage houses. Instead of following the herd, their targets were unusual for their range, with some anticipating a further decline for stocks, but others forecasting a powerful rally. The average for the group pegged the S&P 500 at 4,031 by year's end.

Bonds Take Flight. But Investors Should Brace for Bumps Ahead.

Fixed income is off to a flying start in 2023, a major turnaround from last year. But the path ahead looks bumpier.

The rally has swept through nearly all fixed-income sectors. In investment-grade bonds, the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond exchange-traded fund (ticker: AGG) is up 4.1%. More impressive are gains in long-term bonds, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) ahead 8.9%, clawing back a bit of last year's 31% fall.

China Caixin Services PMI Bounced Back in January

A private gauge of China's service-sector activity bounced back in January to expansionary territory, signaling a quick economic recovery following Beijing's removal of its stringent Covid-19 containment regime in December.

China Says It Is Looking Into Spy-Balloon Allegation by U.S.

China declined to confirm whether it sent a spy balloon over the continental U.S. but said it wanted to handle the allegation calmly with Washington.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese reconnaissance balloon had been spotted over Montana, adding that it was expected to pass in a southeasterly direction over the country for a few days.

FBI to Search Mike Pence's Home for Additional Classified Materials

WASHINGTON-The FBI is expected to search former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home for classified material in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter, as senior government officials come under increased law-enforcement scrutiny of their handling of such documents.

The Justice Department is in talks with Mr. Pence's legal team about scheduling the search, the people said.

Global Minimum Tax Deal Advances With Partial Reprieve for U.S.-Based Companies

WASHINGTON-The U.S. prodded other major countries to agree to a coordinated global corporate tax increase. Now, international officials are moving ahead with their tax increases while giving U.S. companies a temporary break from some tax hikes in hopes of prompting the U.S. to implement the deal.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Thursday spelled out how the U.S. tax system will interact with the minimum taxes being implemented in the European Union, the U.K., South Korea and other countries. The rules offer a partial reprieve for U.S. companies through 2025. Still, U.S. companies are likely to face higher taxes abroad.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-03-23 0553ET