1. Trump says he’s not concerned with the decline of the dollar.

The dollar fell sharply against the yen, euro, British pound and Swiss franc for its lowest settle in nearly four years.

2. LVMH sales of high-end fashion and handbags continue to struggle.

For years, luxury stocks were seen as Europe’s answer to Big Tech: Big, fast-growing companies with resilient business models.

Yet ever since interest rates surged in 2022 and Chinese demand started waning, the stocks as a group have underperformed the broader market. “The base case is now that China is going to show a sequential deceleration across most luxury brands.”

Another reason investors are wary about the sector is its valuations. Even as its forward price-earnings ratio has eased off an almost four-year high, luxury stocks still trade at a greater-than-average 74% premium to the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index.

3. The wait list for a Birkin is getting shorter.

“Current resale premiums seem to suggest that waiting lists have shortened, and that the total supply for Hermès bags is now closer to demand than before,” says Bernstein luxury analyst Luca Solca.

4. China auto exports keep increasing.

5. The ever-growing link between space and defense.

Raytheon shares neared 52-week highs after a "beat-and-raise" quarter fueled by global defense/space demand. The company ended the year with a record $268 billion backlog, supported by a 23% year-over-year increase in new awards.

Here is the space value chain.

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