Micron, Alibaba among market cap stock movers on Friday

Investing.com – Turkey stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Wholesale & Retail Trade, Food & Beverages and Tourism sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Istanbul, the BIST 100 rose 1.70% to hit a new all time high.

The best performers of the session on the BIST 100 were Coca-Cola Icecek AS (IS:CCOLA), which rose 7.79% or 5.35 points to trade at 74.05 at the close. Meanwhile, Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi AS (IS:EKGYO) added 7.22% or 1.54 points to end at 22.88 and Tab Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (IS:TABGD) was up 6.16% or 14.95 points to 257.75 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi AS (IS:OTKAR), which fell 10.00% or 53.00 points to trade at 477.00 at the close. Efor Yatırım Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (IS:EFOR) declined 5.40% or 1.50 points to end at 26.30 and Izdemir Enerji Elektrik Uretim AS (IS:IZENR) was down 4.37% or 0.40 points to 8.76.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Istanbul Stock Exchange by 344 to 231 and 32 ended unchanged.

Shares in Coca-Cola Icecek AS (IS:CCOLA) rose to 52-week highs; up 7.79% or 5.35 to 74.05. Shares in Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi AS (IS:EKGYO) rose to all time highs; gaining 7.22% or 1.54 to 22.88. Shares in Tab Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (IS:TABGD) rose to all time highs; up 6.16% or 14.95 to 257.75.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 1.10% or 50.79 to $4,572.91 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 0.93% or 0.55 to hit $59.74 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 0.96% or 0.61 to trade at $64.37 a barrel.

USD/TRY was up 0.15% to 43.28, while EUR/TRY fell 0.20% to 50.22.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 99.14.

Investing.com -- Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) shares are down more than 2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded stock to Underweight.

Intensifying price competition, heavier promotions and a renewed push into private labels are likely to pressure sales and limit margin recovery for U.S. packaged food makers into 2026.

The U.S. food sector looks at downside risks as retailers step up value-focused strategies to defend traffic amid a strained consumer environment.

Recent Nielsen data and retailer commentary point to higher price investment, rising promotional activity and strengthening private label competitiveness across mass, grocery and omnichannel formats.

Morgan Stanley said competition has accelerated following Amazon’s August 2025 move to expand assortment and lower delivery costs, prompting major retailers such as Walmart and Kroger to reinvest more aggressively in pricing and promotions.

Manufacturers face shrinking pricing headroom, with any commodity cost relief more likely to be reinvested by retailers rather than passed through to branded suppliers’ margins. Growing retailer scale, particularly at Walmart, has also widened negotiating imbalances and reduced manufacturers’ ability to push through list price increases.

Private label momentum has re-emerged after stabilising in 2025, with Nielsen data showing widening price gaps versus national brands.

Private label volume share has turned positive, a pattern that has historically preceded more durable share gains in low-growth, commoditised categories.

The bank said this heightens share risk for branded manufacturers with higher private label exposure, including Kraft Heinz.

Morgan Stanley said promotional penetration across food categories has risen meaningfully, driven by higher consumer price sensitivity and retailers leaning more on promotions to manage volumes. Private labels have seen the sharpest increase in promotional activity, raising the risk that branded manufacturers will need to spend more on trade to defend share.

J.M. Smucker is also downgraded to Equal-weight. Brokerage said Hershey and Mondelez appear better positioned, supported by lower private label exposure and, in Mondelez’s case, a greater international mix.

Investing.com -- ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood released her 2026 investment outlook, describing the US economy as a "coiled spring" poised for powerful growth in the coming years.

Wood points to several sectors that have been in recession despite sustained real GDP growth over the past three years. Housing sales dropped 40% from January 2021 to October 2023, reaching levels last seen in 2010. Manufacturing has been contracting for roughly three years, according to the US Purchasing Managers Index.

The ARK Invest CEO believes the economy is set to rebound sharply due to a combination of deregulation, lower taxes, declining inflation, and falling interest rates. She highlights that corporate tax refunds should increase as accelerated depreciation on manufacturing facilities, equipment, software, and domestic research pushes the effective corporate tax rate toward 10%.

Wood forecasts inflation could drop to "surprisingly low—if not negative" rates in the coming years. She cites several factors including a 53% drop in West Texas intermediate oil prices from post-COVID highs, a 15% decline in new single-family home prices since October 2022, and productivity gains that have lowered unit labor cost inflation to 1.2%.

On technology, Wood predicts non-farm productivity growth could accelerate to 4-6% annually due to convergences between major innovation platforms including AI, robotics, energy storage, blockchain, and multiomics technology. She notes that AI training costs are declining 75% per year, while AI inference costs are dropping up to 99% annually according to some benchmarks.

Wood expects nominal US GDP growth to reach 6-8% in the next few years, driven by 5-7% productivity growth, 1% labor force growth, and inflation between -2% and +1%.

Regarding investments, Wood highlighted that gold appreciated 65% in 2025 while bitcoin slipped 6%. However, she noted that since October 2022, bitcoin has increased 360% compared to gold’s 166% gain. She also pointed out bitcoin’s low correlation with other major asset classes, making it "a good source of diversification for asset allocators."

Wood also addressed AI developments, noting that investment in data center systems grew 47% to nearly $500 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow another 20% in 2026. She reported that OpenAI and Anthropic reached annualized revenues of $20 billion and $9 billion respectively by the end of 2025, representing massive growth from the previous year.

Investing.com – Morocco stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Utilities, Banking and Mining sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Casablanca, the Moroccan All Shares declined 0.36%.

The best performers of the session on the Moroccan All Shares were Akdital SA (CSE:AKT), which rose 2.11% or 26.00 points to trade at 1,256.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Nationale d’Electrolyse et de Petrochimie Ste SA (CSE:SNP) added 2.02% or 9.90 points to end at 499.90 and Travaux Generaux De Construction De Casablanca S.A (CSE:TGC) was up 1.35% or 12.00 points to 900.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Miniere Touissit (CSE:CMT), which fell 9.95% or 219.00 points to trade at 1,981.00 at the close. SMI (CSE:SMI) declined 9.17% or 550.00 points to end at 5,450.00 and Sanlam Maroc SA (CSE:SAH) was down 5.30% or 124.00 points to 2,215.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Casablanca Stock Exchange by 42 to 15 and 4 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for February delivery was up 0.76% or 0.45 to $59.64 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in March rose 0.82% or 0.52 to hit $64.28 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.04% or 1.79 to trade at $4,621.91 a troy ounce.

EUR/MAD was down 0.24% to 10.70, while USD/MAD unchanged 0.02% to 9.23.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 98.98.

Investing.com -- Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) stock rose as much as 9% Friday before paring gains to 4.6% after the company announced plans to acquire German-listed Kloeckner & Co (XETR:KCO) in a deal that would create the second largest steel service center company in North America.

The all-cash transaction values Kloeckner at €11 per share, implying an enterprise value of $2.4 billion. The acquisition represents an EV/EBITDA multiple of approximately 8.5x based on Kloeckner’s trailing twelve-month EBITDA as of September 30, 2025, or 5.5x when including anticipated synergies.

Worthington Steel expects the combination to generate approximately $150 million in annual run-rate synergies by the end of its fiscal year 2028, primarily from North American operations. The company anticipates the deal will be "substantially accretive" to earnings per share within the first full year after closing.

The acquisition will significantly expand Worthington Steel’s scale, creating a combined company with over $9.5 billion in revenue while maintaining EBITDA margins above 7% including synergies. The transaction will also diversify Worthington’s product portfolio, end markets, and geographic footprint across North America and Europe.

"This is a strategic and transformative step in Worthington Steel’s growth journey," said Worthington Steel president and CEO Geoff Gilmore. "Through the acquisition of Kloeckner & Co, we will enhance our offerings in high-value metals processing and create meaningful value for our shareholders, deeper relationships with our customers and suppliers, and growth opportunities for our employees."

Kloeckner’s largest shareholder, SWOCTEM GmbH, which owns approximately 42% of shares, has committed to tender its shares in support of the offer. The transaction requires a minimum acceptance threshold of 65% of Kloeckner’s issued share capital and regulatory approvals, with completion expected in the second half of calendar year 2026.

Worthington Steel plans to finance the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and new debt financing, with pro forma net leverage expected to be around 4.0x at closing. The company aims to reduce leverage to below 2.5x within 24 months after closing.

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