Israel stocks lower at close of trade; TA 35 down 0.80%

Investing.com – Greece stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Banking, Telecoms and Household sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Athens, the Athens General Composite fell 1.01%.

The best performers of the session on the Athens General Composite were Ekter (AT:EKTr), which rose 6.18% or 0.18 points to trade at 3.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Viohalco SA (AT:VIOH) added 2.87% or 0.30 points to end at 10.76 and Athens Medical (AT:AMCr) was up 2.37% or 0.05 points to 1.95 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Eurobank Ergasias SA (AT:EURBr), which fell 3.01% or 0.11 points to trade at 3.48 at the close. National Bank of Greece SA (AT:NBGr) declined 2.30% or 0.32 points to end at 13.38 and Metlen Energy & Metals (AT:MTLNr) was down 2.28% or 1.00 points to 42.78.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Athens Stock Exchange by 66 to 50 and 19 ended unchanged.

Shares in Viohalco SA (AT:VIOH) rose to all time highs; rising 2.87% or 0.30 to 10.76.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.76% or 32.05 to $4,252.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 1.45% or 0.85 to hit $59.49 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 1.20% or 0.75 to trade at $63.20 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.31% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.52% to 0.87.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.40% at 98.90.

Investing.com -- UBS initiated coverage of Roblox with a Neutral rating and a $103 price target, saying the company remains a unique asset in interactive entertainment but is likely to face slower growth next year as it laps several viral hits and increases investment to support a larger user base.

Roblox sits at the center of three major shifts in gaming: more social play, hardware-agnostic experiences and lower barriers to creation driven by AI.

UBS said the company’s toolset has enabled developers to build content once and distribute it across devices and languages, helping fuel a cycle of creation, engagement and spending.

Roblox delivered 70 % bookings growth in the third quarter and more than 50 % growth year to date, but UBS expects the pace to ease in 2026 unless new breakout titles emerge.

The firm warned that new safety and age-verification tools rolling out in December could weigh on short-term usage, and that advertising represents a large opportunity but carries high execution risk due to the platform’s younger audience.

UBS forecasts 23 % bookings growth in 2026, slightly above management’s target of about 20 % a year. It expects adjusted EBITDA margins to contract by about 40 basis points next year as the company catches up on infrastructure spending and increases developer payouts.

The broker sees margins expanding again from 2027, supported by AI-driven efficiencies and a shift toward higher-margin platforms.

The $103 price target is based on roughly 27 times 2027 estimated adjusted EBITDA, or about one times forward growth, which UBS said is broadly in line with the stock’s historical trading range and peers.

Investing.com -- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock fell 1.6% Wednesday morning, recovering from an earlier 3% decline, after the company denied a report claiming it had reduced sales quotas for its AI software products.

The tech giant issued an emailed statement in response to an article published by The Information, explicitly stating, "We did not lower AI sales quotas," according to CNBC.

The original report had claimed Microsoft lowered expectations for monetizing its newer AI products, known as "agents," which are designed to automate multi-step tasks. The Information had suggested multiple Microsoft divisions reduced sales growth targets for certain AI products after salespeople missed goals in the fiscal year ending in June.

The publication had characterized such an adjustment as unusual for Microsoft, potentially indicating challenges in convincing customers to increase spending on AI technologies amid resistance to premium pricing for these solutions.

Following Microsoft’s denial, the broader market impact appeared to moderate. The Nasdaq 100, which had declined 0.6% in pre-market trading, recovered to trade flat by mid-morning.

Microsoft had previously positioned 2025 as a breakthrough year for AI capabilities that could automate complex tasks, such as generating dashboards from company sales data.