Companies that form part of the India's Tata Group were in focus, after it was announced on Wednesday that the conglomerate's former chairman Ratan Tata had passed away at the age of 86.
The business tycoon led Tata Group, one of India's largest companies, for more than 20 years. In his time as chairman, the group made key acquisitions, including the purchase of British tea brand Tetley, as well as buying car brands British Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co (F).
Tata retired as the group's chairman in 2012 and was then chairman emeritus of its investment holding company Tata Sons.
Tata Group comprises of a number of companies including Tata Steel (TATASTEEL.NS), Tata Motors (TATAMOTORS.NS), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) and Tata Investment Corporation. Shares in Tata Steel were fairly muted on on Thursday, while Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services were down nearly 1%, while Tata Investment Corporation was up nearly 10%.
In a statement announcing Tata's death, Tata Group described him as a "truly uncommon leader".
India's prime minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media platform X that Tata was a "visionary business leader".
Electric carmaker Tesla's highly-anticipated robotaxi event is due to take place on Thursday evening in California, when the company's CEO Elon Musk is expected to unveil more details about its autonomous taxi.
Many Wall Street analysts are not expecting to see a fully functional robotaxi that can be deployed right away, but they are looking to see how Tesla paints the picture of autonomous self-driving that the company envisions for the next five or 10 years.
While Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas named Tesla as his "top pick" in the autos sector, he said that investors should “keep expectations well managed” for the event.
Tesla reported record third-quarter shipments from its Shanghai factory in China, marking a 19% year-over-year increase.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said this news provided a "nice hors d’oeuvre for the big reveal of its robotaxi".
"Describing it as a combination of Uber (UBER) and Airbnb (ABNB) — with owners acting as landlords for their autonomous vehicles as they pick up and drop off fares — Musk has painted a colourful picture of the potential," he said.
“If today’s launch underwhelms it could knock the recent rebound in the company’s shares off course, so the stakes are high," Mould added.
Shares were up less than 1% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Shares in HSBC were flat on Thursday morning, despite reports that the bank will target senior bankers in a cost-cutting plan.
The Financial Times reported that HSBC chief Georges Elhedery, who stepped into the role in September, is looking at a restructuring plan that will aim to save the bank as much as $300m (￡229m).
The plan will look to get rid of duplication in top roles, with an announcement expected by the end of October, according to the report.
A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment when contacted by Yahoo Finance UK.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that HSBC was considering merging its investment and commercial banking arms to cut costs.
HSBC reported stable profits before tax of $21.6bn in its interim results, released at the end of July.
However, the company also reported that operating expenses had risen by 5%, or $800m, to $16.3bn in the first half of the year on the same period in 2023.
Pharmaceuticals company GSK jumped 5% on Thursday morning, on the back of the news that it had reached a settlement of up to $2.2bn for the majority of cases linked to its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, over claims that it caused cancer.
The company said in an announcement on Wednesday that it had reached agreements with 10 plaintiff firms who represented 93%, or around 80,000, cases against it in the US.
GSK said it had also reached an agreement in principle to payout $70m to resolve a dispute with US laboratory firm Valisure.
In the statement, GSK said it had "not admitted any liability" in either of the cases.
"While the scientific consensus remains that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk of any cancer, GSK strongly believes that these settlements are in the best long-term interests of the company and its shareholders as they remove significant financial uncertainty, risk and distraction associated with protracted litigation," the company said.
Shares in carmaker BMW were flat, despite the reporting a drop in sales in the third quarter compared to the previous year.
In an update published on Thursday, the carmaker said BMW group automotive sales were down 13%.
Regionally, the company said BMW and Mini sales in China were down nearly 30% in the third quarter, while in the US and Europe sales were down 9% and 1% respectively.
However, it reported that sales of full-electric vehicles were up 19% in the first nine months of 2024.
BMW also adjusted its guidance for the 2024 financial year, saying it now expected a slight decrease in deliveries compared with the previous year. The company also revised its earnings before interest and tax margin down to between 6% and 7%, from a previous range of 8% to 10%.
The company said this guidance revision was partly triggered by "additional headwinds" with it stopping deliveries and recalling vehicles due to issues with braking systems.
"In parallel to this effect, the ongoing muted demand in China is affecting sales volumes," BMW said. "Despite stimulus measures from the government, consumer sentiment remains weak."
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