Top global stories this week: Diageo, Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca among notable names

Most stock indexes ended the week lower following losses on Wall Street as renewed tech weakness and worries over the prolonged U.S. government shutdown hit sentiment.

The downturn was compounded by renewed geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, which further unsettled investor confidence across asset classes. Weak trade data from top consumer China also weighed on the sentiment.

Out of the 133 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings this week, 105 of them surpassed EPS expectations [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4518718-over-75-of-companies-deliver-eps-wins-this-week-earnings-scorecard], 22 of them missed estimates, while six names reported EPS in-line with analysts’ expectations.

For the week, Nasdaq (COMP:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/COMP:IND]), S&P 500 (SP500 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SP500]) and Dow (DJI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DJI]) booked a 3%, 1.6% and 1.2% fall, respectively.

Across the Atlantic, THE EUROPEAN EQUITIES (STOXX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/STOXX]) ended the week 1.6% lower.

The Bank of England kept rates at 4% in a close vote, hinting at a possible cut in December if inflation keeps cooling.

On the data front, Eurozone retail and producer prices both slipped in September, weighed down by lower energy costs. However, economic activity picked up in October, with the Composite PMI rising [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4515429-euro-area-composite-pmi-rises-to-525-services-pmi-climbs-to-53-in-october] to its highest in several months.

The UK Composite PMI rose [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4515440-uk-services-pmi-revised-up-to-523-composite-pmi-rises-to-522-in-october] in October, signalling renewed momentum in private sector activity.

In the week, London’s FTSE 100 (UKX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UKX]) equities fell 0.4% while both Germany (DAX:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DAX:IND]) and France (CAC:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CAC:IND]) markets slipped 2.3%.

MAJOR CORPORATE NEWS FROM EUROPE this week:

* British spirits producer Diageo (DEO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DEO]) shares fell to their lowest level in nearly 14 years after warning [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4517548-diageo-lowers-fy26-outlook-on-soft-us-chinese-sales] that weakness in China and the U.S. will result in lower FY26 sales.
* A.P. Moller-Maersk (OTCPK:AMKBY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AMKBY]) (OTCPK:AMKBF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AMKBF]) reported better than expected Q3 results [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4517265-maersk-shares-sink-in-europe-after-warning-of-q4-losses-due-to-falling-freight-rates] but warning that falling freight rates were set to cause losses in its ocean container business in Q4.
* Novo Nordisk (NVO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVO]) will no longer increase its buyout offer [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4519038-novo-nordisk-ends-metsera-fight-pfizer-inks-10b-dea] for Metsera (MTSR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MTSR]) after Pfizer (PFE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PFE]) won the bidding war for the U.S. weight-loss drug developer, reaching a deal worth up to $10B.
* DHL (OTCPK:DHLGY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DHLGY]) achieved earnings growth [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4516948-deutsche-post-ag-gaap-eps-of-075-revenue-of-2013b] despite ongoing trade tensions.
* AstraZeneca (AZN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AZN]) posted stronger-than-expected Q3 results [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4516930-astrazeneca-beats-q3-estimates-on-oncology-strength], fueled by continued strength in its oncology portfolio.
* Novo Nordisk (NVO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVO]) trimmed [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4515436-novo-nordisk-accepts-us-medicare-price-deal-for-obesity-drugs] its growth outlook for its Ozempic obesity and diabetes treatments.
* Ferrari (RACE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RACE]) beat [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4514044-ferrari-gives-q3-results-revises-guidance] third-quarter profit expectations and reaffirmed its guidance for this year.

THE ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS

China will suspend retaliatory tariffs [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4515391-china-to-suspend-most-us-tariffs-after-trump-xi-meeting-soybeans-still-face-13-duty] on U.S. imports, including lifting duties on farm goods, though U.S. soybean imports will still carry a 13% tariff.

China’s manufacturing PMI slipped [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4512722-chinas-factory-growth-cools-to-506-in-october-export-uncertainty-rises] in October, easing from September’s six-month high and coming in below expectations. Export sales fell [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4518258-chinas-trade-surplus-shrinks-in-october-as-exports-unexpectedly-fall-combined-with-a-rise-in-imports] at their fastest pace since May, as global trade uncertainty continued to pressure China’s exports.

In the last week, Chinese markets (SHCOMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHCOMP]) advanced 1.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NKY:IND]) fell 3.7%.

Japan’s manufacturing PMI was revised down in October, slightly below the initial estimate and September’s level.

MAJOR ASIAN CORPORATE NEWS from this week.

* Xpeng (XPEV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XPEV]) unveiled plans to launch [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4515503-xpeng-to-launch-robotaxis-humanoid-robots-with-in-house-ai-chips] robotaxis next year and debut its second-generation humanoid robot as part of its “AI Day” event.
* SoftBank Group (OTCPK:SFTBF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFTBF]) (OTCPK:SFTBY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFTBY]) explored a potential takeover [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4516871-softbank-is-said-to-have-explored-potential-takeover-of-chipmaker-marvell-technology] of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology (MRVL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MRVL]) earlier this year.

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ETFS TO TRACK ASIA & OCEANIA: (NYSEARCA:EWJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EWJ#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSE:JEQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JEQ#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:FXI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXI#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NASDAQ:PGJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PGJ#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:EWH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EWH#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:DXJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DXJ#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSE:CAF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CAF#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:FXY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXY#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:YINN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/YINN#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:YANG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/YANG#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NASDAQ:CXSE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CXSE#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:KWEB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KWEB#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews])

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