Global Stocks Rise As SpaceX Profit Boosts Tech Shares

Stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday, buoyed by news that Elon Musk’s SpaceX had reported its first quarterly profit as a publicly traded company. The announcement, which came after Wall Street closed on Tuesday, gave a particular boost to technology stocks. SpaceX shares jumped more than 10 percent in morning trading in New York, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1 percent.

SpaceX’s net profit of $4.4 billion for July to September was more than double analysts’ expectations, against a loss of $1.1 billion a year earlier. Revenue at the firm, which listed after a world-record initial public offering (IPO) in June, soared 161 percent to $14.6 billion.

“SpaceX delivered some impressive earnings results and guidance, to go along with a pronouncement that it could rent out its AI compute capacity many times over if it was able,” said Patrick O’Hare, a market analyst at Briefing.com.

“That was relief music to the ears of investors in the likes of CoreWeave and Nebius.” Shares and bonds of firms such as CoreWeave, which have borrowed heavily to build data centers for artificial intelligence (AI), were hit hard last week on fears that high interest rates could sink their business models.

Server-maker Super Micro Computer also lifted sentiment after saying its preliminary quarterly earnings had beaten forecasts. Attention now turns to Tesla and Facebook parent Meta, which report results after Wall Street closes on Wednesday. “If (Meta and Tesla’s) reports deliver similarly strong results and guidance, it could go some way toward reigniting broader AI enthusiasm and giving the sector more sustained momentum,” said KCM Trade analyst Tim Waterer.

The Paris stock market closed up 1.1 percent amid sharp swings in individual stocks. EssilorLuxottica soared more than 16 percent after the world’s top eyeglasses maker reported a 24 percent jump in sales of lenses that help slow short-sightedness in children. Supermarket giant Carrefour plunged more than 13 percent after warning that the recent violent protests in France would hit its profits.

Chief executive Alexandre Bompard said around 50 Carrefour stores were looted over the weekend.

The company expects this year’s operating profit to be cut by 80 million to 200 million euros ($90 million to $225 million) as a result.

The yield on France’s benchmark 10-year government bond briefly rose above 5 percent, its highest level since 2002, as investors demanded a higher return for holding French debt amid a budget standoff and the protests.

Frankfurt closed up 1.4 percent and London gained 0.2 percent. In Asia, Seoul’s Kospi ended 3.3 percent higher, while Hong Kong fell 0.9 percent. Brent crude was up 0.3 percent at $109.16 a barrel.