{"id":74622,"date":"2026-11-13T03:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T07:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T03:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T07:08:20","slug":"global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Market Pulse: Richemont Surges on Earnings as SoftBank and Microsoft Face Setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#Luxury_Sector_Outperforms_Amid_Regional_Strength\" >Luxury Sector Outperforms Amid Regional Strength<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#SoftBank_and_Microsoft_Face_Infrastructure_Hurdles\" >SoftBank and Microsoft Face Infrastructure Hurdles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#Goldman_Sachs_Reshuffles_European_Outlook\" >Goldman Sachs Reshuffles European Outlook<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#Currency_and_Crypto_Volatility_Intensifies\" >Currency and Crypto Volatility Intensifies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-market-pulse-richemont-surges-on-earnings-as-softbank-and-microsoft-face-setbacks\/74622\/#Trade_and_Investment_Shifts_in_Emerging_Markets\" >Trade and Investment Shifts in Emerging Markets<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Richemont (<a href=\"\/stock\/CFR\">CFR<\/a>) posted a 33% surge in H1 operating profit<\/strong> to \u20ac3.13 billion, beating estimates as jewellery sales grew 19% at constant exchange rates.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SoftBank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>) booked a massive $3.7 billion charge<\/strong> after cancelling orders for gas turbines intended for AI data centers, leading to its first net loss in nearly two years.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) is scrambling to restore services<\/strong> after a widespread global outage disrupted Outlook, Teams, and Copilot for thousands of users.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Goldman Sachs raised its STOXX 600 target to 700<\/strong> but turned bearish on European energy and insurance stocks, downgrading both sectors to Underweight.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bitcoin (<a href=\"\/stock\/BTC\">BTC<\/a>) fell to a three-month low near $68,847<\/strong> as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data fueled concerns of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Luxury_Sector_Outperforms_Amid_Regional_Strength\"><\/span>Luxury Sector Outperforms Amid Regional Strength<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Compagnie Financi\u00e8re Richemont (<a href=\"\/stock\/CFR\">CFR<\/a>) reported robust first-half results for the period ended September 30, 2026, driven by <strong>sustained double-digit sales growth<\/strong>. Total sales reached <strong>\u20ac12.28 billion<\/strong>, a 17% increase at constant exchange rates, slightly ahead of analyst expectations. The growth was spearheaded by the <strong>Jewellery Maisons<\/strong>, which saw sales climb 19%, while the <strong>Specialist Watchmakers<\/strong> division grew by 10%.<\/p>\n<p>The luxury group&#39;s operating profit jumped <strong>33% to \u20ac3.13 billion<\/strong>, resulting in an operating margin of 25.5%. Richemont noted that while raw material costs remain elevated, strong sales leverage and a <strong>\u20ac229 million one-time tariff-related benefit<\/strong> bolstered the bottom line. Growth was broad-based across most regions, with particularly strong performances in <strong>Japan, the Americas, and Asia Pacific<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"SoftBank_and_Microsoft_Face_Infrastructure_Hurdles\"><\/span>SoftBank and Microsoft Face Infrastructure Hurdles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>SoftBank Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>) disclosed a <strong>\u00a5597.2 billion ($3.7 billion) writedown<\/strong> related to the cancellation of gas turbine orders. The company had originally reserved over <strong>13 gigawatts of power-generating capacity<\/strong> to secure infrastructure for its AI data center rollout. However, a shift in industry preference toward larger, more efficient equipment rendered the original orders obsolete, contributing to a <strong>quarterly net loss of \u00a51.12 trillion ($7 billion)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) is battling a <strong>global service disruption<\/strong> that has knocked out critical workplace tools. The outage, which <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> attributed to <strong>&quot;elevated load&quot; on its infrastructure<\/strong>, has primarily impacted <strong>Outlook, Teams, and the Copilot AI assistant<\/strong>. While the company has begun returning some servers to service, it warned that restoration efforts were not progressing as quickly as expected, affecting users in over <strong>74 countries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Goldman_Sachs_Reshuffles_European_Outlook\"><\/span>Goldman Sachs Reshuffles European Outlook<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Goldman Sachs has updated its 12-month outlook for the <strong>STOXX Europe 600<\/strong>, raising the target to <strong>700 points<\/strong> from 695. The bank cited resilient corporate earnings and a positive profit trajectory despite geopolitical volatility. However, strategists have become notably more selective, <strong>downgrading European Energy and Insurance<\/strong> sectors to <strong>Underweight<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The bank also lowered its recommendation for <strong>European Banks to Neutral<\/strong>, signaling a more cautious stance on the financial sector as interest rate paths remain uncertain. <em>Analysts suggest that while the broader index remains attractive due to lower valuations compared to U.S. equities, structural headwinds in energy supply and shifting regulatory environments warrant a defensive rotation.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Currency_and_Crypto_Volatility_Intensifies\"><\/span>Currency and Crypto Volatility Intensifies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>USD\/JPY pair hit 160.08<\/strong>, marking its strongest level since early September and sparking fresh concerns regarding potential intervention by Japanese authorities. The yen&#39;s weakness follows <strong>hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data<\/strong>, which has pushed Treasury yields higher and strengthened the greenback. <em>Technical indicators suggest that if the 160 level holds, the pair could test summer highs near 164.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the digital asset space, <strong>Bitcoin (<a href=\"\/stock\/BTC\">BTC<\/a>) extended its recent slide<\/strong>, falling to a three-month low of <strong>$68,847<\/strong>. The selloff was triggered by October&#39;s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which showed core inflation rising 0.3% month-on-month. The data has led markets to price in a higher probability of a <strong>50-basis-point rate hike<\/strong> by the Federal Reserve in December, dampening investor appetite for risk-on assets.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trade_and_Investment_Shifts_in_Emerging_Markets\"><\/span>Trade and Investment Shifts in Emerging Markets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>China&#39;s expansion of <strong>zero-tariff treatment to 53 African nations<\/strong> is expected to catalyze a new wave of investment in the continent&#39;s processing industries. By removing duties on 100% of tariff lines, Beijing aims to encourage African producers to export <strong>higher-value processed goods<\/strong> rather than just raw materials. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation suggest this policy will shift Chinese investment from serving local African demand to creating <strong>export-oriented manufacturing hubs<\/strong> targeting the Chinese consumer market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Richemont (CFR) posted a 33% surge in H1 operating profit to \u20ac3.13 billion, beating estimates as jewellery sales [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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