INO:

Dow jumps more than 250 points to a record; European markets close higher despite coronavirus fears; Heineken up 6%

Stocks rose to all-time highs on Wednesday as investors shook off concerns over how the coronavirus would impact corporate profits and the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 275 points higher, or 0.9%, at 29,551.42. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6% to 3,379.45 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to end the day at 9,725.96.
Corporate earnings remained in focus after Lyft reported more than $1 billion in quarterly revenue, but forecast slower growth in 2020. Lyft shares slid 10.2%. CVS Health, Molson Coors, Teva Pharmaceutical and Shopify all reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations.
European markets closed higher Wednesday as traders monitored corporate earnings and the spread of the new coronavirus. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally up 0.6%, hitting a record high as most sectors and major bourses were in positive territory. Autos shares soared 3.8% to lead gains while utilities bucked the upward trend to fall 0.4%.
In corporate news, Heineken’s CEO will step down on June 1. Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, who has held the chief executive position for 15 years, will be replaced by the head of the company’s Asia-Pacific region. The announcement came ahead of the company’s full year earnings report on Wednesday. The world’s second-largest beer maker projected operating profit in 2020 to grow by a mid-single digit percentage after 2019 earnings came in level with expectations. Heineken stock jumped 5%.
Dutch lender ABN Amro missed fourth-quarter earnings expectations, sending the stock tumbling 6% to the bottom of the Stoxx 600.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA:

NBS: Serbian FX reserves reach 13.69 bln euros at end-January

At end-January 2020, gross and net National Bank of Serbia (NBS) FX reserves reached their new end-of-month highs since 2000, when the tracking of data began in this manner, the NBS announced Wednesday. "Gross NBS FX reserves amounted to 13,694 mln euros, up by 316 mln euros from December 2019. This level of FX reserves covered 186 pct of money supply (M1) or six months’ worth of the country’s import of goods and services (twice the level prescribed by the standard on the adequate level of coverage of the import of goods and services by FX reserves).
Source: Ekapija

Euroclear to connect Serbia with investors worth 30 tln euros

Membership in the Euroclear system will bring new investors, lower costs of borrowing and economic development to Serbia, says Sudip Chatterjee, head of global capital markets at Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear. "When a market gets connected to Euroclear… There are 30 tln (euros worth) of foreign investors sitting on the back of Euroclear," Chatterjee told Tanjug.
Source: Tanjug

Serbian FinMin says government to continue easing tax burden

Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Tuesday that the government would continue easing the tax burden on earnings and the economy. Speaking at a conference organized by the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), the minister said that the government’s priority is to find ways to maintain macroeconomic stability and help the economy grow faster. “We are lowering the tax burden on salaries by one percent a year and that will continue,” he said. Mali recalled that the government and Finance Ministry worked on new laws in 2019, including a law on accounting which says that only electronic bills will be issued as of January 1, 2022 to make doing business easier and to speed up VAT refunds. “There is no reason to wait up to 15 months for a VAT refund, that has to be quicker,” he said.
Source: N1