Musk's SpaceX results lift global stock markets

NEW YORK: Global stock markets rose on Wednesday (Oct 21), boosted by news that Elon Musk's SpaceX reported its first quarterly profit as a publicly traded company.

The announcement, which followed Wall Street's close on Tuesday, helped lift technology stocks in particular.

Shares in SpaceX jumped more than 12 per cent at its peak, finishing the session at US$159.31, up nearly 8 per cent.

SpaceX's net profit of US$4.4 billion for July-September was more than double what analysts had expected and compared with a loss of US$1.1 billion a year earlier. 

Revenue at the company - which listed after a record initial public offering in June - soared 161 per cent to US$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 market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

SpaceX's earnings release comes ahead of a stream of results in the coming sessions from other tech giants, including from Facebook parent Meta later on Wednesday. 

"SpaceX basically lifted the AI spirits," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. "If the earnings season continues on this path, I think we're in for a solid rally towards year-end."

All three major US indices finished solidly positive, led by the Nasdaq, which ended up 1.1 per cent in spite of a 5.3 per cent drop in Netflix after its latest results added to worries about the streaming company's prospects.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading and investing platform IG, said Meta's AI model has been well received by investors but that it will likely need to keep spending to keep up with competitors.

"The trick will be in convincing skittish investors that splashing the cash will deliver the long-term growth it needs," he said.

Markets in Japan, South Korea and the UK also rose.

The Paris stock market added 1.1 per cent amid extreme fluctuations among individual stocks.

EssilorLuxottica soared more than 16 per cent after the world's top maker of eyeglasses announced late Tuesday a 24 per cent jump in sales of lenses that help slow short-sightedness in children.

But supermarket giant Carrefour plunged more than 13 per cent after it warned that the recent violent protests across France would dent profits. 

Chief Executive Alexandre Bompard said around 50 Carrefour stores were looted over the weekend, and it expects operating profit will be cut this year by 80 million to 200 million euros (US$90-US$225 million) as a result.

The yield on France's benchmark 10-year government bond meanwhile closed above 5 per cent for the first time since 2002 as investors demanded a higher return for holding the country's debt amid a budget standoff and the protests.

French police said Wednesday that protests would be banned in parts of Paris on Thursday, applying to key landmarks in the French capital including the Elysee presidential palace, both houses of parliament, as well as tourist havens such as the Louvre museum and the Champs-Elysees.