Must read: gold, Novo Nordisk, Watches of Switzerland
ii’s head of investment rounds up the morning’s big news.
4th February 2026 09:20
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
GLOBAL MARKETS
The FTSE 100 is rebounding by around 0.5%, alongside the French CAC and Italy's FTSE MIB which are also in the green.
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Beazley (LSE:BEZ) is the top gainer in London after it agreed to a sweetened $11 billion takeover proposal from Zurich Insurance. London Stock Exchange Group (LSE:LSEG) is at the bottom of the FTSE 100, still caught up in software concerns having fallen sharply alongside RELX (LSE:REL) and Experian (LSE:EXPN) on Tuesday. Elsewhere, Banco Santander SA (LSE:BNC) is down around 4% following plans to buy US regional lender Webster Financial. Novo Nordisk AS Class B (XETRA:NOV) has fallen sharply after announcing a weak full-year sales outlook.
US futures are pointing to a higher open with a focus on earnings from Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) and Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) among others. It comes after a steep sell off in software stocks, sparked by Anthropic’s new AI tool that could cannibalize the software market, hurting shares like Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) and Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE). The tech heavy Nasdaq closed down 1.43% and the S&P 500 shed 0.84%.
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Gold continues its ascent after Tuesday’s impressive rebound when it logged the biggest one-day gain since 2008 following Friday and Monday’s painful sell-off. Gold is currently up around 3.5% and back above $5,100 an ounce while silver is up 8% and platinum 5%.
Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk shares have plunged as much as 18% today despite fourth-quarter operating profit coming in sightly above estimates. Investors were spooked by the obesity drugmaker’s warning that sales in 2026 could fall by between 5% and 13%, worse than analysts had pencilled in.
After peaking in 2024 when the Ozempic maker was the most valuable company in Europe, Novo Nordisk shares have since lost their way and are now down almost 50% over the past year.
It has been dealing with intense competition, especially in the US from companies like Eli Lily which makes Mounjaro. Plus it is facing the expiry of patents for the semaglutide this year and in 2031, which will hurt its pricing power. And there is pressure from Trump’s drug deal – Novo Nordisk must now sell its weight loss injectables for a fraction of its previous price of over $1,000 a month to around $350. On top of that, Novo Nordisk has faced significant boardroom volatility with lots of changes in the leadership team creating uncertainty for investors.
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This turmoil forced Novo Nordisk to announce 9,000 job cuts in September last year. However, CEO Mike Doustdar said there are no plans for systematic mass layoffs this year.
Meanwhile, the company has been trying to diversify but suffered a considerable setback following a drug failure in its Alzheimer’s trial in November. Novo Nordisk is hoping that its new weight loss pill will help offset some of these challenges, by broadening its potential market and making consumption of the drug simpler and more accessible.
Watches of Switzerland
Watches of Switzerland Group (LSE:WOSG) raised its full-year sales outlook, anticipating growth of between 9% and 11% in constant currency, versus its previous guidance for between 6% and 10%. It expects its profit margin to improve in the second half of the year and it maintained its full-year capex guidance for between £65 million and £70 million.
The company’s luxury brands performed well in the UK and the US, with demand outstripping supply, driven by strong trading over the holiday season around December. It continues to spend on marketing to support performance particularly in the North American market.
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Despite a challenging macro backdrop in the UK, high end customers are still spending on watches with "excellent momentum" at the Rolex Old Bond Street boutique. Watches of Switzerland’s second-hand or pre-owned business is an ongoing key driver of demand in the US and the UK and helps to hedge against more challenging economic periods.
Last month, Watches of Switzerland enjoyed price target upgrades from Barclays and UBS. Shares have had a strong start to the year but are losing some ground this morning after the company flagged an "unusually volatile operating environment, including macroeconomic uncertainty and tariffs". Longer term, shares are down around 10% over the last year.
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