LG Electronics upgraded to Baa1 by Moody’s on improved metrics

Investing.com -- Barclays upgraded Zillow to Equal Weight from Underweight, citing improved execution while challenges in the US housing market persist. Its price target was bumped to $72 from $66.

Issues around affordability, legal disputes, policy uncertainty, and competition remain unresolved but much of the downside risk now appears priced into the shares.

Zillow has delivered mid-teens revenue growth and mid to high-20s adjusted EBITDA growth for two consecutive years, despite a weak residential backdrop.

Sentiment around the stock has softened heading into 2026, even after Zillow outlined expectations for mid-teens revenue growth and about two points of EBITDA margin expansion.

Valuation multiples have compressed by about 6%, while earnings estimates have moved little, largely reflecting investor concerns around competition, litigation, and housing policy.

Barclays expects Zillow’s fourth-quarter results to land broadly in line with expectations, with US residential transaction volumes seen rising about 3% year on year, slightly slower than the prior quarter.

The bank said the housing market remains stable but has yet to show a clear inflection, with activity continuing to “bounce along the bottom.”

Investors are likely to focus less on near-term results and more on the building blocks of 2026 growth and margin expansion.

Barclays said faster growth in rentals and newer products such as Zillow Pro could help offset concerns about uneven outperformance versus broader housing trends.

Barclays outlined three reasons for its more constructive view. First, Zillow’s ability to outperform transaction volumes over the past two years has increased confidence in execution. Second, competitive pressure appears to be easing after Costar Group said it would sharply reduce investment in Homes.com from 2026.

Third, valuation looks more reasonable, with Zillow trading at about 17x Barclays’ 2027 EBITDA estimate against expected EBITDA growth of about 22% in 2026.

While Barclays said the path to a housing recovery remains unclear, it noted that prolonged periods of weak existing home sales often lead buyers to adjust to higher interest rates, setting the stage for eventual improvement. Against that backdrop, the bank said Zillow’s risk-reward profile now looks more evenly balanced at the start of 2026.

Investing.com -- Wall Street slid on Thursday, weighed down by a post-earnings plunge in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and software services stocks. Meanwhile, gold halted a historic run that saw the yellow metal near $5,600/oz, as traders locked in gains.

Heavyweight earnings were the focus, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) set to report after the bell. Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) results were cheered by investors.

At 11:37 ET (16:37 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 index was down 1.1% to 6,904.01 points, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 0.3% to 48,872.42 points. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite fell the most, slipping 2% to 23,375.32 points.

The S&P 500 briefly broke through the 7,000 threshold for the first time on Wednesday.

"We are seeing a market pullback today, led primarily by weakness in the technology sector following mixed earnings reports. Under the surface, however, the selling pressure appears less broad-based: the NYSE advance/decline ratio is running at just 1.5 decliners for every advancer," Keith Lerner, chief investment officer and market strategist at Truist, told Investing.com.

"Notably, the S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index, a proxy for the average stock, is down only 0.16%. Elsewhere, silver and gold are experiencing sharp pullbacks after a historic run, as some profit-taking has emerged," Lerner added. 

Meta soars, Microsoft slumps after earnings

Three of the Magnificent 7 members reported results after hours on Wednesday, with their stocks seeing a mixed response this morning.

Meta soared after the Facebook-owner forecast first-quarter revenue above market expectations, pointing to resilient advertising demand and growing returns from its investments in artificial intelligence. 

The Instagram parent also said its capital expenditures would jump to as much as $135 billion this year, well above Wall Street expectations and almost doubling 2025’s total, as big spending on artificial intelligence remained a key theme of earnings.  

Microsoft shares, on the other hand, fell sharply. The tech behemoth said it too had spent more on its AI build-out than many had anticipated, but worries still swirled around slightly lower growth at its key Azure cloud-computing division versus the prior quarter. 

Microsoft’s results, along with SAP SE’s, raised fresh questions about the durability of cloud and AI spending, and weighed on software services stocks. Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM), Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY), and Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) were among the top percentage decliners on the Nasdaq. 

Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock gave up pre-market gains to trade lower. The electric-vehicle maker posted fourth-quarter results that topped expectations, while also signaling a pivot toward artificial intelligence as its core automotive business faces sustained pressure.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) stock rose after Big Blue beat estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and profit, as the rapid adoption of AI boosts demand for its software services, ranging from managing vast amounts of data to automating IT processes.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock rose after the heavy equipment manufacturer reported a surge in fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded Wall Street expectations, as the boom in enthusiasm around artificial intelligence fueled demand for the group’s energy equipment.

Fed holds rates steady, providing stability

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.50%–3.75% on Wednesday, marking the first pause after three consecutive cuts.

In its policy statement, the Fed cited still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth and a stabilizing labor market, and offered little in the way of guidance on the timing of future cuts.

"Overall, the Fed struck a more positive tone on the economy, with subtle changes to the FOMC’s statement that modestly upgraded the Committee’s outlook on the labor market and conveyed slightly less concern about inflationary pressures," Brian Storey, head of multi asset strategies at Brinker Capital, said.

"Although the Fed did not update its ’dot plot’ at this meeting, it is noteworthy that there seems to be a healthy degree of alignment between the Fed and financial markets (courtesy of fed funds futures) on the likelihood of 1-2 quarter-point rate cuts by year-end," he said.

"With this alignment between the Fed and financial markets, there is a reduced likelihood of monetary policy upending equity markets as we move into the back half of the year," Storey added.

Gold halts historic run, crude pops

Gold prices earlier soared to a record high near $5,600 an ounce, extending recent gains following a report that Trump was considering a new strike on Iran. The run finally came to an end in morning trading, with spot gold sharply turning lower.

Silver prices also followed gold into negative territory after hitting an all-time peak of nearly $122/oz, as the white metal also benefited from outsized demand for safe havens.

The torrid metal price rally has showed few signs of slowing amid heightened global geopolitical tensions, which ramped up demand for physical assets and safe havens. A weak dollar and uncertainty over U.S. policy also provided support, with copper prices also hitting a record high on Thursday.

Oil prices also climbed strongly, with Brent trading near $70/bbl, on increasing concerns of a disruption of supply from Iran, if the key Middle Eastern producer is targeted by the U.S. for military action. 

Brent futures gained 3.1% to $69.47 a barrel and Crude Oil WTI Futures rose 3.6% to $65.48 a barrel.

Both contracts have climbed over 10% this week and are at their highest since June last year.

Ayushman Ojha and Peter Nurse contributed to this article

Investing.com -- Bitcoin mining stocks fell sharply as the world’s largest cryptocurrency hit a low of $84,233, down 5.5% today, continuing a downturn that began in early October.

Strategy shares dropped 9%, while MARA Holdings fell 6% and Riot Platforms declined 7%. Other mining companies saw similar losses, with Bitmine Immersion and Cipher Mining both down 9%, CleanSpark falling 8%, TeraWulf dropping 7%, and IREN Limited decreasing 6%. Crypto exchange Coinbase stock also tumbled 6.5% amid the broader sell-off.

The decline in cryptocurrency prices has been particularly notable as Bitcoin remained stagnant even when tech shares and precious metals rallied in recent weeks. Now, cryptocurrencies appear to be following the tech sector downward as both digital assets and technology stocks face selling pressure.

Smaller digital assets experienced even steeper declines, with Ether, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Solana all down at least 6% or more. The widespread selling across the crypto market has particularly impacted mining companies, whose profitability is closely tied to Bitcoin’s price.

The crypto market’s weakness comes despite previous resilience in other risk assets, suggesting a potential shift in investor sentiment specifically toward digital assets. Mining companies, which typically amplify Bitcoin’s price movements due to their operational leverage, have seen their stocks decline more severely than the underlying cryptocurrency.

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

Investing.com – Poland stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Banking, Chemicals and Information Technology sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Warsaw, the WIG30 lost 0.46%.

The best performers of the session on the WIG30 were KGHM Polska Miedz SA (WA:KGH), which rose 5.44% or 19.20 points to trade at 371.90 at the close. Meanwhile, Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN SA (WA:PKN) added 1.45% or 1.52 points to end at 106.48 and PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (WA:PGE) was up 0.95% or 0.09 points to 9.54 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were CCC SA (WA:CCCP), which fell 5.63% or 7.20 points to trade at 120.65 at the close. Bank Millennium SA (WA:MILP) declined 3.28% or 0.58 points to end at 17.12 and Pepco Group Nv (WA:PCOP) was down 3.07% or 0.93 points to 29.32.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by 343 to 206 and 105 ended unchanged.

Shares in KGHM Polska Miedz SA (WA:KGH) rose to all time highs; up 5.44% or 19.20 to 371.90. Shares in Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN SA (WA:PKN) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 1.45% or 1.52 to 106.48.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 3.72% or 2.35 to $65.56 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 3.28% or 2.21 to hit $69.58 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.60% or 32.10 to trade at $5,308.10 a troy ounce.

EUR/PLN was up 0.28% to 4.21, while USD/PLN rose 0.39% to 3.53.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 96.23.

Investing.com – Denmark stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Technology, Healthcare and Chemicals sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Copenhagen, the OMX Copenhagen 20 declined 1.24%.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Copenhagen 20 were AP Moeller - Maersk A/S B (CSE:MAERSKb), which rose 2.39% or 365.00 points to trade at 15,640.00 at the close. Meanwhile, AP Moeller - Maersk A/S A (CSE:MAERSKa) added 2.11% or 320.00 points to end at 15,520.00 and Coloplast A/S (CSE:COLOb) was up 1.50% or 8.00 points to 541.40 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Novo Nordisk A/S Class B (CSE:NOVOb), which fell 2.90% or 11.10 points to trade at 370.40 at the close. Oersted AS (CSE:ORSTED) declined 2.80% or 4.10 points to end at 142.10 and Jyske Bank A/S (CSE:JYSK) was down 1.62% or 15.00 points to 910.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange by 84 to 41 and 15 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 3.75% or 2.37 to $65.58 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 3.35% or 2.26 to hit $69.63 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.39% or 20.96 to trade at $5,319.24 a troy ounce.

USD/DKK was up 0.16% to 6.26, while EUR/DKK unchanged 0.04% to 7.47.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 96.25.