KULR stock jumps after developing 400V battery for defense system

Investing.com – Spain stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Building & Construction, Consumer Services and Financial Services & Real Estate sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Madrid, the IBEX 35 rose 1.09%.

The best performers of the session on the IBEX 35 were ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (BME:ACS), which rose 4.56% or 3.30 points to trade at 75.60 at the close. Meanwhile, Unicaja Banco SA (BME:UNI) added 3.51% or 0.08 points to end at 2.47 and Ferrovial (BME:FER) was up 3.47% or 1.88 points to 56.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Indra A (BME:IDR), which fell 1.29% or 0.58 points to trade at 44.48 at the close. Endesa SA (BME:ELE) declined 0.78% or 0.24 points to end at 30.64 and Telefonica (BME:TEF) was down 0.76% or 0.03 points to 3.65.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Madrid Stock Exchange by 139 to 50 and 15 ended unchanged.

Shares in Ferrovial (BME:FER) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.47% or 1.88 to 56.00.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.34% or 14.05 to $4,130.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 1.18% or 0.68 to hit $58.49 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 0.60% or 0.37 to trade at $62.31 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.01% to 1.15, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.08% to 0.88.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 100.21.

Investing.com -- Goldman Sachs said Europe’s premium automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW remain its preferred picks as the sector contends with tighter CO₂ rules, falling share in China’s electric-vehicle market and rising tariff exposure. 

The brokerage said both manufacturers benefit from stronger balance sheets, product-cycle support and more flexibility to shift production across regions.

Goldman Sachs said emissions compliance remains less challenging for premium brands than for mass-market peers. 

BMW is expected to meet its 2025-27 targets under the EU’s three-year averaging mechanism, supported by higher battery-electric vehicle penetration.

The brokerage said concerns about German automakers’ falling Chinese market share overlook that most of the loss is concentrated in the BEV segment, where domestic manufacturers have moved faster. 

Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen have improved their pure-ICE market shares over the past five years. 

Premium brands have lost about 0.5 percentage points of total market share since 2019, compared with a 5-point drop for Volkswagen and an 8-point fall for Japanese OEMs.

Goldman Sachs said upcoming platform launches at both Mercedes and BMW could lift competitiveness. 

Mercedes’ MMA and MB.EA architectures are expected to cut battery costs by about 30% per kWh, while BMW’s Neue Klasse, featuring Gen6 eDrive and cylindrical cells, targets a 30% increase in range, 30% faster charging and a 20% reduction in manufacturing costs.

The analysts noted that Mercedes, BMW and Renault continue to hold strong net cash and financing-unit equity positions even as core auto valuations have weakened sharply over the past decade.

Goldman Sachs said implied enterprise values for BMW, Mercedes and Renault’s core auto operations are now negative.

The brokerage said it views Mercedes, BMW and Renault as better positioned than other European automakers across key sector risks, with the premium brands benefiting from strong product pipelines and solid cash generation.

Investing.com -- Fitch Ratings has revised Hasbro, Inc.’s outlook to positive from stable while affirming its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ’BBB-’.

The rating agency cited Hasbro’s progress in improving EBITDA to approximately $1.2 billion from about $700 million in 2023, along with strong free cash flow and EBITDA leverage in the high-2x range.

A potential upgrade would depend on continued growth in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming business, with EBITDA sustained above $1.2 billion and leverage maintained below 3x.

The ratings reflect Hasbro’s substantial growth and profit concentration, with Wizards making up about 85% of profit. Fitch views Wizards as Hasbro’s primary growth engine, supported by resilient margins and expanding engagement.

Magic: The Gathering set releases are adding players and monetizing effectively, with Wizards Play Network locations now exceeding 9,500. Organized play has increased significantly, driving recurring demand that is less seasonal than traditional toys.

While Fitch expects continued Wizards sales and earnings growth, execution risk remains. Magic set releases must resonate to sustain engagement and spending, and video game launches carry elevated execution risk.

Fitch forecasts annual EBITDA of $1.2 billion-$1.3 billion and expects leverage to be around 2.9x at year-end 2025, trending in the high-2x range afterward. Hasbro has reduced debt by around $150 million since year-end 2023.

The company’s Consumer Products segment has seen sales decline nearly 40% since 2019 while the toy industry has grown. Operating margin in this segment has fallen from about 8% to roughly 4% over the same period.

Fitch expects Consumer Products sales could stabilize at about $2.4 billion in 2026, primarily supported by scheduled entertainment releases. However, tariffs, cautious retailer ordering, and discretionary category softness present risks.

Hasbro’s product mix shift toward Wizards has elevated margins, with EBITDA margin rising from about 19% in 2019 to about 26% expected in 2025. For 2026, Fitch expects EBITDA margin to remain roughly flat.

The rating agency projects annual free cash flow of about $150 million-$225 million, with liquidity further supported by an undrawn $1.25 billion revolver. The company pays an annual dividend of about $390 million.

Fitch expects capital expenditure intensity to increase to about 5.5% in 2026 from around 4.8% in 2024 due to in-house digital production, and forecasts a resumption of share repurchases in 2026.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.08%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.98%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.88%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 3.29% or 10.94 points to trade at 343.32 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 2.94% or 2.79 points to end at 97.76 and Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) was up 2.76% or 9.05 points to 337.06 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), which fell 1.66% or 1.78 points to trade at 105.33 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 1.29% or 6.19 points to end at 472.24 and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was down 0.96% or 1.73 points to 178.91.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) which rose 8.41% to 174.00, Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN) which was up 7.34% to settle at 142.56 and Builders FirstSource Inc (NYSE:BLDR) which gained 7.14% to close at 101.62.

The worst performers were Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) which was down 5.66% to 198.76 in late trade, Vistra Energy Corp (NYSE:VST) which lost 2.99% to settle at 168.59 and Constellation Energy Corp (NASDAQ:CEG) which was down 2.30% to 337.83 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were JX Luxventure Ltd (NASDAQ:JXG) which rose 1,319.75% to 3.45, Foxx Development Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:FOXX) which was up 77.00% to settle at 3.54 and Mobilehealth Network Solutions (NASDAQ:MNDR) which gained 56.58% to close at 4.76.

The worst performers were Heartbeam Inc (NASDAQ:BEAT) which was down 53.51% to 0.78 in late trade, Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCT) which lost 41.86% to settle at 4.00 and FAT Brands Inc (NASDAQ:FAT) which was down 40.01% to 0.45 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2191 to 584 and 58 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2509 rose and 873 declined, while 150 ended unchanged.

Shares in Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) rose to all time highs; gaining 8.41% or 13.50 to 174.00. Shares in JX Luxventure Ltd (NASDAQ:JXG) rose to all time lows; gaining 1,319.75% or 3.21 to 3.45. Shares in Heartbeam Inc (NASDAQ:BEAT) fell to all time lows; losing 53.51% or 0.90 to 0.78. Shares in Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCT) fell to all time lows; losing 41.86% or 2.88 to 4.00. Shares in FAT Brands Inc (NASDAQ:FAT) fell to all time lows; losing 40.01% or 0.30 to 0.45.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 11.17% to 23.47.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.03% or 1.05 to $4,061.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 1.75% or 1.03 to hit $57.97 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.44% or 0.91 to trade at $62.47 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.10% to 1.15, while USD/JPY fell 0.66% to 156.46.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.01% at 100.08.