Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your morning read on what's moving money and markets.
Visa delivered its strongest earnings growth since two thousand twenty two, with shares surging after the payments giant beat across the board. Despite lingering concerns about AI disrupting traditional payment rails and broader macro uncertainty, consumer spending held firm, and management struck a confident tone on forward guidance.
Shifting to big pharma, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and GSK all cleared the bar on first quarter revenue, and more importantly, each raised full-year guidance. That combination of beat-and-raise is exactly what a battered healthcare sector needed, and it signals that pipeline execution and pricing power remain intact even as Washington keeps one eye on drug costs.
And keeping a close watch on geopolitics this morning — President Trump confirmed he is reviewing a new Iranian proposal to end the conflict but said, in his own words, he cannot imagine it would be acceptable. Markets have been sensitive to any headline out of that region, given the pressure it places on energy prices and defense spending assumptions. L3Harris and the broader defense complex will be worth watching as this develops through the week.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
