{"id":73669,"date":"2026-10-27T03:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T07:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-update-reckitt-slashes-forecast-saudi-energy-hubs-face-heightened-security\/73669\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T03:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T07:38:13","slug":"global-markets-update-reckitt-slashes-forecast-saudi-energy-hubs-face-heightened-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-update-reckitt-slashes-forecast-saudi-energy-hubs-face-heightened-security\/73669\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Update: Reckitt Slashes Forecast, Saudi Energy Hubs Face Heightened Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reckitt (<a href=\"\/stock\/RKT\">RKT<\/a>) cut its FY2026 like-for-like sales guidance to 3.5%\u20134.5%<\/strong> following a volume decline of 0.7% in Q3, missing analyst estimates.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saudi Arabia&#39;s Civil Defense briefly activated early warning systems in Najran<\/strong> due to potential danger, while unconfirmed reports of smoke emerged near the <strong>Ras Tanura<\/strong> refinery.<\/li>\n<li><strong>TotalEnergies (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTE\">TTE<\/a>) announced the divestment of its 10% interest in the Renaissance JV<\/strong> to Vaaris for <strong>$800 million<\/strong> as part of its ongoing portfolio optimization in Nigeria.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) iPhone sales in India reportedly fell up to 30%<\/strong> during the critical festive season, hit by higher price points and weaker-than-expected promotional activity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CoreWeave expanded its global AI footprint<\/strong> by bringing 22.5 MW of capacity online in Denmark and announcing a network backbone extension to the UAE, India, and Australia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Consumer Goods &amp; Tech: Earnings Miss and Regional Slumps<\/h2>\n<p>Consumer goods giant Reckitt (<a href=\"\/stock\/RKT\">RKT<\/a>) reported a challenging third quarter, with <strong>volumes falling 0.7%<\/strong>, significantly missing the 1.08% growth expected by analysts. While a <strong>3.9% increase in price\/mix<\/strong> helped offset some of the volume weakness, the company was forced to lower its full-year like-for-like sales forecast to a range of <strong>3.5% to 4.5%<\/strong>. Management cited manufacturing constraints in North America, specifically affecting its <strong>Lysol<\/strong> brand, and a category slowdown in China as primary headwinds.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology sector, Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) is facing a rare setback in its high-growth Indian market. Reports indicate a <strong>sales decline of up to 30%<\/strong> during the recent festive season, a period usually characterized by peak demand. Analysts point to <strong>higher retail prices<\/strong> and a lack of aggressive promotional discounts compared to previous years as the main drivers for the cooling demand.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Tensions: Saudi Energy Infrastructure Under Watch<\/h2>\n<p>Security concerns in the Middle East intensified this morning as the Saudi National Early Warning Platform issued an emergency alert for <strong>Najran City<\/strong>. While the &quot;danger passed&quot; notice followed shortly after, the incident coincides with unconfirmed social media footage showing smoke near <strong>Ras Tanura<\/strong>, home to one of the world&#39;s largest oil refineries. These developments follow recent claims by Houthi militants regarding drone strikes on the <strong>East-West Pipeline<\/strong>, though Saudi authorities have not confirmed any damage to energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy &amp; Pharma: Strategic Divestments and M&amp;A Stability<\/h2>\n<p>TotalEnergies (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTE\">TTE<\/a>) continues to reshape its upstream portfolio, confirming the sale of its <strong>10% non-operated stake in the Renaissance JV<\/strong> for <strong>$800 million<\/strong>. The deal with Vaaris follows a broader trend of international oil companies (IOCs) divesting onshore and shallow-water Nigerian assets to focus on deepwater projects and integrated gas.<\/p>\n<p>In the pharmaceutical sector, Novartis (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVS\">NVS<\/a>) CEO Vas Narasimhan reaffirmed the company&#39;s current M&amp;A strategy despite recent clinical setbacks. Following the failure of a key muscle-wasting drug acquired through the <strong>Avidity Biosciences<\/strong> deal, Narasimhan stated that the strategy of pursuing <strong>bolt-on acquisitions<\/strong> and early-stage pipeline assets remains appropriate and requires no immediate changes.<\/p>\n<h2>AI Infrastructure: CoreWeave\u2019s Global Buildout<\/h2>\n<p>AI cloud provider CoreWeave announced a major infrastructure milestone, activating the majority of its <strong>22.5 MW capacity<\/strong> at the DEN01 data center in Copenhagen. The company is also launching a &quot;Global AI Network Backbone,&quot; with new points of presence scheduled for the <strong>UAE, India, Singapore, and Australia<\/strong> starting in Q4 2026. This expansion aims to provide petabit-scale connectivity for massive AI workloads across four continents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Reckitt (RKT) cut its FY2026 like-for-like sales guidance to 3.5%\u20134.5% following a volume decline of 0.7% in Q3, 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