SoftBank and Uber; Carmakers under pressure; GM earnings
London(CNN Business) 1. SoftBank: SoftBank is getting a boost from some of its huge tech investments.
The Japanese company said Wednesday that its operating profit increased 60% in the final quarter of 2018 to 438 billion yen ($4 billion), thanks to gains in the value of its tech fund.
The Saudi-backed SoftBank (SFTBF) Vision Fund has pumped more than $45 billion into tech companies around the world and has more than $50 billion still to spend.
Investments in Uber and WeWork accounted for a big chunk of SoftBank's income surge. But the company lost money on Nvidia (NVDA), whose shares plunged toward the end of 2018.
The company said the Vision Fund has offloaded its entire stake in Nvidia since the start of this year. SoftBank stock closed 0.6% higher in Tokyo before the earnings release.
2. Car makers report: Earnings from Toyota and Daimler are adding to worries over the strength of the global auto industry.
Toyota downgraded its full year financial forecast on Wednesday. The Prius maker said its sales in North America declined in the final three months of last year.
Shares in Toyota (TM) dropped as much as 1.5% in Tokyo, before recovering some ground to close down 0.7%.
Daimler said in an earnings statement Wednesday that its operating profit in the fourth quarter dropped 22% compared to the previous year. The German carmaker also cut its dividend.
The company said its performance during 2018 "didn't reflect the strong demand" for its vehicles.
"2018 was a year of strong headwinds — with the ongoing diesel debate, the changeover to the new [emissions] test method and the global trade dispute," Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said in a statement.
Daimler (DDAIF) shares were down nearly 2% in Frankfurt after the announcement.
3. More auto earnings: General Motors is up next. It reports earnings before the opening bell.
It will be the company's first quarterly report since it announced plans to cut 8,000 salaried staff and close five plants in North America. Analysts are forecasting lower earnings for the quarter and the year.
GM (GM) wants to trim costs and free up funds so it can invest in electric and self-driving vehicles. Investors will be looking for more details about its plans when results are released.
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4. Global market overview: US stock futures were pointing down.
European markets opened mostly lower, while stocks in Asia were mixed. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for holidays.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.7% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 closed 0.5% higher and the Nasdaq gained 0.7%.
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5. Earnings and economics: 21st Century Fox (FOXA), Boston Scientific (BSX), Eli Lilly (LLY), Humana (HUM), New York Times (NYT), Spotify (SPOT) and trivago (TRVG) report earnings before the open.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), GoPro (GPRO), iRobot (IRBT), Match Group (MTCH), O'Reilly Auto (ORLY) and Valvoline (VVV) will follow after the close.
The European Commission is widely expected to announce the results of its probe into the proposed merger of Siemens (SMAWF) and Alstom (AOMFF) at 5:45 a.m. ET.
Shares in BNP Paribas (BNPQF) dropped 1.9% in Paris after the bank lowered its outlook.
The US Energy Information Administration will release a report on crude oil inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET. US crude futures dropped 0.9% to trade $53.20 per barrel.
6. Coming this week:
Wednesday — GM (GM), Chipotle (CMG), Toyota (TM), Humana (HUM), Eli Lilly (LLY), The New York Times and Spotify (SPOT) report earnings; the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit begins
Thursday — Twitter (TWTR), Yum! Brands (YUM), Kellogg (K), Philip Morris International (PM), MetLife (MET), Mattel (MAT), T-Mobile (TMUS), News Corp (NWS) and Dunkin Brands (DNKN) report earnings
Friday — Hasbro (HAS), Phillips 66 (PSX) report earnings
