Oil Prices Plunge Over 6% as Middle East Ceasefire Hopes Ease Supply Fears 
Explosion and Fire Erupt at Valero Oil Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas 
Lynas Rare Earths Signs Vietnam Deal with LS Eco Energy to Boost Magnet Metal Production 
Henkel in Advanced Talks to Acquire Olaplex at $2 Per Share 
Citi Names Eric Farina and Rob Cascarino to Lead Global Infrastructure Financing Group 
Finnair Orders 18 Embraer E195-E2 Jets in Landmark Fleet Overhaul 
AWS Bahrain Region Disrupted by Drone Activity Amid Middle East Conflict 
Innate Pharma Reports 55% Revenue Drop and €49.2M Net Loss for 2025 
Nintendo Switch 2 Production Cut as Holiday Sales Miss Targets 
Delivery Hero Sells Taiwan Foodpanda to Grab for $600 Million in Debt-Reduction Push 
Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push 
SpaceX IPO Filing Expected This Week as Valuation Could Surpass $75 Billion 
Asian Markets Rally as Oil Prices Tumble and Middle East Peace Hopes Emerge 
OpenAI Pulls the Plug on Sora, Ending $1 Billion Disney Partnership 
Gold Prices Climb as Middle East Ceasefire Talks Stir Market Optimism 
Wall Street Slides as Iran War Uncertainty, Oil Surge, and AI Fears Rattle Markets 
RBC Capital Markets has upgraded the Utilities sector to Overweight, naming it the top defensive sector, while downgrading Energy to Market Weight. The decision follows a survey of RBC’s US analysts, which revealed Utilities as having the strongest performance outlook among all sectors.
RBC strategists highlighted positive earnings per share (EPS) and sales revisions, coupled with the sector's resilience to US political debates on taxes and tariffs. They also noted Utilities’ strong performance during the 2018 China trade war and its lower sensitivity to US dollar fluctuations as key factors.
In contrast, the downgrade of Energy reflects a weaker performance outlook, driven by softer fund flows and sluggish earnings revisions. RBC stated the move was partly strategic, accommodating the Utilities upgrade while maintaining three Overweight sectors. Despite the downgrade, RBC emphasized that Energy remains a Market Weight sector with valuation appeal and political tailwinds offering potential advantages.
RBC also maintained Overweight ratings on Financials and Communication Services, citing continued confidence in their growth prospects.
