Mercedes among the winners on Thursday's stock exchange FinanceAffairs.com

Both Fear and Hope were previously tied to Nvidia's Q4 numbers. However, on Wednesday after the market closed, it became clear that the semiconductor manufacturer not only met expectations, but beat them by a good margin. Additionally, management's guidance for the current quarter surprised favorably. The good news contributed to Nvidia's stock rising 15 percent at 5:30 on Thursday.
Unlike Nvidia, many believe that Moderna's heyday is over, with sales of coronavirus vaccines declining. But on Thursday, the biotech company stunned analysts by reporting $217 million in fourth-quarter profit, rather than a big loss. The reason was to generate income from previous periods as well as reduce costs. Management has maintained its forecast for 2024, which indicates, among other things, a turnover of about $4 billion. The price rise was 8 percent.
In Europe, the price of Rolls-Royce rose by almost 9 percent. The aircraft engine manufacturer doubled its profits from 2022 to 2023, and is expected to increase operating profits this year by at least 6 percent. Companies that make boat engines and spare parts for defense purposes have performed particularly well.
Tourism is also on a nice trend. Carnival said record high demand and low fuel prices contributed to surprisingly strong earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) numbers in the fourth quarter. The cruise operator's guidance for 2024 beat the consensus estimate by a modest 2 percent, but was enough to lift inventory by 5 percent.
Mercedes-Benz had a better return, although fourth-quarter operating profits were slightly higher than expected, and sales growth last year was a weak 2 percent. The German carmaker also warned that supply chain bottlenecks, geopolitical turmoil and trade policy uncertainty could threaten profitability this year. The administration's guidance on zero income growth this year was not particularly encouraging. On the positive side, a new private share buyback program for up to €3 billion will be initiated. Mercedes shares rose by 6 percent.