Highlights of the week: luxury gets its shine back, gold gets cheaper, Musk wants $1 trillion

Luxury showed signs of recovery: reports from Hermès, Prada and Kering gave investors hope for a turnaround after a prolonged slump. US inflation in September was below expectations - the market has little doubt that the Fed will cut rates next week. Gold suffered its biggest drop in 12 years and oil jumped after US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil. Tesla exceeded revenue forecasts and disappointed with profits, and its CEO Elon Musk wants a $1 trillion bonus. The main events of October 20-24 are in our review.

French house Hermès reported sales growth of almost 10% in the third quarter - the figure exceeded analysts' expectations thanks to steady demand for Birkin and Kelly bags, primarily in the US and China. Prada's report kept the wave of optimism alive, with retail revenue adding 9% in the first nine months of 2025, while subsidiary Miu Miu saw a 41% rise in sales, helping to offset a slump in sales at its flagship Prada brand. Signs of the sector's recovery are also evident in the results of Gucci owner Kering: after publishing a report with results above expectations, the company's shares rose more than 11% in trading on October 23. Sales declined by only 5% compared to 15% in the second quarter, which analysts called "the first encouraging step towards stabilization".

The luxury sector is showing signs of recovery after a prolonged slump caused by a slowdown in the Chinese economy and a decline in demand for "affordable luxury". According to analysts from Citi, UBS and Deutsche Bank, the improved performance of Hermès, Prada and Kering reflects the overall stabilization of the market. Experts note that the recovery remains fragile: further dynamics will depend on growth rates in China, currency fluctuations and the success of updated collections.

What else is there to read about the suite?

- On the eve of the publication of BNP Paribas Exane warned against excessive optimism about luxury. What advice he gave to investors - in the article "5 theses about the luxury market: which companies you should look at right now".

Inflation in the US in September was below expectations: the consumer price index (CPI) reached 3% in annualized terms for the first time since January after rising to 2.9% in August. Analysts expected inflation to accelerate to 3.1%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% month-over-month and 3% year-over-year. The figures were below expectations - analysts had forecasted 0.3% and 3.1%, respectively.

Stocks reacted with growth: the S&P 500 index added 0.9% at the beginning of trading on October 24, breaking a record. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2% to a new high. The Dow Jones index rose 0.8%. Small-caps stocks, which are the most sensitive to high interest rates, reacted the strongest - the Russell 2000 index jumped 1.5%.

This is the first significant economic report since the US government shutdown - investors have been without access to statistics for 24 days. Although U.S. inflation remains far from the Fed's 2% annualized target, the market expects the Fed to cut rates by 25 bps next week, to a range of 3.75-4%, CME FedWatch shows. Traders are putting another quarter-point cut in their forecasts for December.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, October 23 after the US, for the first time since Donald Trump's second term, imposed sanctions against Russia's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. Brent and WTI futures rose more than $3 a barrel, with December Brent contracts temporarily topping $65. The price growth was also supported by the unexpected reduction of oil reserves in the USA.

Analysts called the price hike a short-term market reaction. Rystad Energy noted that the sanctions of recent years have not had a significant impact on production volumes in Russia. The key factor in the coming months will be the OPEC+ policy: the abolition of production quotas may lead to oversupply and lower prices.

Tesla's revenue in the third quarter grew by 12% to $28.1 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations amid a surge in demand before the elimination of tax incentives for electric cars. At the same time, the company's earnings were below Wall Street's expectations: the adjusted figure amounted to $0.5 per share against the forecasted $0.54, and net income fell by 37% to $1.37 bln. The decline is explained by the cheapening of electric cars and the increase in the company's operating expenses by 50%, including due to investments in AI.

Tesla did not provide a forecast for electric car shipments, noting uncertainty due to new trade and tax conditions under Donald Trump's administration. The company confirmed plans to begin mass production of Cybercab, Semi electric trucks, Megapack 3 storage system and Optimus robots in 2026, and to expand its robotaxi network to 8-10 US cities.

Despite the return to revenue growth, analysts note Tesla's high costs and pressure from competitors in Europe. The company's shares reacted to the publication of the report with a decline of about 4% in extended trading on October 22.

Gold rally was interrupted on October 21 by the strongest fall since 2013: the price of precious metal on the spot market collapsed by more than 6% - to $4082 per ounce, Bloomberg reported. Silver fell even more strongly - by 8.7%, to $47.9 per ounce. The collapse in prices caused a sell-off in shares of major gold miners: Newmont and Barrick Mining securities lost 9% in the course of trading, ETF SPDR S&P Metals & Mining - 6.6%. Gold miners now react to the movement of metal prices as sharply as cryptocurrency companies react to bitcoin, Barron's noted.

Experts explain the sharp reversal of the rally by a combination of factors: the strengthening of the dollar, optimism about the negotiations between the U.S. and China, the end of the season of gold purchases in India and uncertainty due to the shutdown of the U.S. government. According to analysts FT and MKS Pamp, the gold market was overheated: for six weeks the metal rose in price by $1000 and entered the "zone of unsustainable growth". Now investors fear that the postponed because of the shutdown data on the state of the U.S. economy may provoke an even deeper correction in gold, said macro-strategist Tatiana Darier.

What else is there to read about it?

- The silver market is in record deficit. Why are traders hunting for bullion again and what do today's rally and the history of the Hunt brothers have in common? - in the article by Oninvest columnist Mikhail Overchenko, "Silver market rush: what does the story of the Hunt brothers, who brought it down 45 years ago, teach us?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has urged shareholders to approve the largest CEO compensation package in history - a stock package worth about $1 trillion - saying at an investor meeting that he needs "enough control" to "quietly build an army of robots." Shareholders will vote on Musk's compensation package on Nov. 6 at Tesla's annual meeting. The plan assumes he will receive no salary or bonuses, but could earn up to $1 trillion in stock if Tesla's market capitalization grows from $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion and ambitious goals for robotaxis, AI and electric vehicle production are met.

The initiative sparked a strong wave of criticism: a coalition of labor unions and human rights organizations launched the Take Back Tesla campaign, urging shareholders to vote against the "outrageous bonus". Opponents include the American Federation of Teachers, Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform and Stop the Money Pipeline. They argue that Musk's behavior hurts the company's reputation and distracts him from management.

Two major consulting firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, also recommended voting against the package, warning of the risks of concentration of power and dilution of shareholder stakes. ARK Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood, who first bought Tesla shares a decade ago, backed Elon Musk, saying shareholder resistance undermines entrepreneurial initiative.

Apple is cutting production of the ultra-thin iPhone Air to almost zero due to weak demand, Nikkei Asia wrote, citing sources. Already from November, the production of devices will amount to less than 10% of September volumes. According to KeyBanc Capital Markets, interest in the model is "almost zero" and consumers' willingness to pay for Apple's future foldable smartphones is minimal. Even active promotion of AI features has failed to drive sales. All versions of the iPhone Air are available without a wait - unlike the more popular iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models, which take up to three weeks to ship.

According to Counterpoint Research, overall interest in the new smartphones was higher than expected: sales of the iPhone 17 series in the U.S. and China in the first 10 days exceeded the results of last year's lineup by 14%. Against the background of news about the reduction of the issue, Apple shares were down almost 3% in trading on October 22, and have risen only 4% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 index rose by 14.5%.

Netflix reported revenue growth of 17% to $11.5 billion for the third quarter, as expected by analysts on Wall Street. Adjusted earnings were below forecasts: it amounted to $5.87 per share, while analysts expected $6.96, operating margin fell to 28% against the expected 31.5%. The company's performance was affected by the ongoing dispute with tax authorities in Brazil: Netflix has paid about $619 million in tax claims, but assured that it will not affect future results. After the report was published on October 22, Netflix shares fell 6.4% in extended trading.

Despite the temporary difficulties, Netflix expects revenue growth of 17% in the fourth quarter, banking on new releases including "Frankenstein" and the finale of "Very Strange Things." The company reported record viewer engagement and maximum ad sales, promising to double its ad revenue by the end of the year. But analysts warn that competition from Disney+, HBO Max and YouTube is intensifying and Netflix's growth rate is slowing - even despite new content formats and increased subscriptions.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor