Vodafone Group Confirms Margherita Della Valle As Group CEO

British telecom major Vodafone Group Plc announced a 10-year strategic partnership with tech major Microsoft Corp. with a view to provide generative AI, digital and cloud services to customers. The move will help Vodafone to offer scaled digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa using Microsoft's generative AI.

Shares of Vodafone Group Plc were losing around 4 percent in the morning trading in London as well as in pre-market activity on Nasdaq after the British telecom major reported Tuesday lower adjusted EBITDAaL, a key earnings metric, in its fiscal 2023. This was despite reporting significantly higher net profit, largely reflecting a gain on disposal of Vantage Towers.

Shares of Vodafone Group Plc were losing around 5 percent in the morning trade in London as well as in the pre-market activity on Nasdaq after the British telecom major reported Tuesday weak profit in its first half with lower revenues. For fiscal 2023, the company now projects adjusted EBITDAaL at at the lower end of original guidance. The company also announced a new cost savings target

Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Cabinet Office said in Tuesday's second preliminary estimate.

The Singapore stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 20 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Straits Time Index now sits just beneath the 3,900-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well. The STI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses among the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues. For the day, the index fell 15.41 points or 0.39 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,899.07 after peaking at 3,922.66. Among the actives, CapitaLand Investment sank 0.77 percent, while City Developments declined 1.19 percent, Comfort DelGro shed 0.68 percent, DBS Group eased 0.28 percent, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust spiked 1.79 percent, Genting Singapore rallied 1.41 percent, Hongkong Land stumbled 1.79 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.49 percent, Keppel Ltd slid 0.44 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust advanced 1.00 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust skidded 0.80 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.64 percent, Seatrium Limited jumped 1.43 percent, SembCorp Industries retreated 1.27 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering slumped 1.14 percent, SingTel tumbled 1.75 percent, UOL Group climbed 1.38 percent, Venture Corporation rose 0.24 percent, Wilmar International fell 0.61 percent, Yangzijiang Financial dropped 0.78 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding dipped 0.42 percent and Thai Beverage, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, DFI Retail, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Emperador and SATS were unchanged.

The Malaysia stock market has tracked lower in three straight sessions, slumping almost 30 points or 2 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,535-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well.

The Japanese stock market rebounded on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 370 points or 1 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just shy of the 37,030-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well. The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the automobile producers, weakness from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial shares. For the day, the index added 141.10 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 37,028.27 after trading between 36,705.02 and 37,113.48. Among the actives, Nissan Motor retreated 1.46 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.68 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.93 percent, Honda Motor accelerated 0.91 percent, Softbank Group strengthened 1.43 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial eased 0.13 percent, Mizuho Financial declined 1.53 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial skidded 1.17 percent, Mitsubishi Electric tumbled 1.60 percent, Sony Group tanked 3.11 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.57 percent and Hitachi surrendered 2.81 percent.

The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 50 points or 2 percent. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,570-point plateau although it's likely to hand back those gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well.