ASML, Pop Mart International, Evoke, Boohoo and Halfords

With Wall Street closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, the focus turned to stocks in other markets, including Dutch chip equipment maker ASML (ASML.AS).

ASML (ASML.AS) was trending after Morgan Stanley named the company as its top pick in European semiconductors, according to Investing.com.

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The bank reportedly raised its price target on ASML (ASML.AS) shares to €1,000 (£876) from €975, saying that a recovery cycle was now underway after more than a year of uncertainty.

Morgan Stanley analyst Lee Simpson reportedly said that ASML is “riding the DRAM [dynamic random access memory] wave into a bright” 2026 financial year.

“ASML (ASML.AS) continues to experience solid demand from DRAM technology transitions,” he said.

The company’s Amsterdam-listed shares rose on Wednesday and dipped into the red on Thursday morning, but are up nearly 33% year-to-date.

In Hong Kong, shares in Labubu-maker Pop Mart International (9992.HK) jumped 7% on Thursday after China announced plans to promote consumption.

China published a notice on Tuesday outlining its plans to enhance the matching of supply and demand for consumer goods and further promote consumption, according to a Google translation.

Fellow Hong Kong-listed toymakers Bloks Group (0325.HK) and Miniso Group Holding (9896.HK) were also up on Thursday, with shares climbing 7.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

On the London market, investors were still digesting the raft of policy changes announced by UK chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday.

That included a hike in the remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% in April 2026, as well as a new rate of general betting duty rising from 15% to 25% in April 2027.

Shares in William Hill-owner Evoke (EVOK.L) slid 7% on Thursday as the betting company warned that changes in tax rates would increase duty costs by approximately £125m to £135m on an annualised basis once fully implemented.

The company said it expects to mitigate around half of the impact of higher duties through measures such as retail store closures and operating cost savings in the medium term.

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Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke (EVOK.L), said that the decision to raise taxes was “highly damaging for the economy and consumers”.

“We will begin immediately on executing our mitigation plans, which involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK, and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Entain (ENT.L) warned of an estimated £200m annualised additional cost to its UK and Ireland online business before any mitigation measures.

Stella David, CEO of Entain (ENT.L), said: “We are deeply disappointed by today’s decision to punitively increase UK gambling taxes, putting at risk an industry which already contributes £7bn annually to the UK economy and supports over 100,000 jobs across the country.”

Shares in retailer Boohoo (DEBS.L), which is set to formally change its name to Debenhams Plc, surged 30% on Thursday after reporting reduced losses.

In half-year results, released on Thursday, Boohoo (DEBS.L) reported revenue of £296.9m, which was 23% lower than the same period of last year.

However, a statutory loss after tax of £3.4m was 97% lower than the £126.7m loss reported for the first half of last year.

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Boohoo (DEBS.L) said that its turnaround continued at pace, with a transformation aimed at returning to profitability across all the company’s brands.

“First-half losses have slimmed thanks to a significant streamlining of the business, which has seen its fixed cost base almost halve in size,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The bottom line is that the fast-fashion group remains loss-making, and while CEO Dan Finley probably needs to be given more time to properly execute his strategy change, the near-term sales outlook doesn’t seem to be improving much.”

Shares in Halfords (HFD.L) were down 3.4% on Thursday morning, as the cycling and motoring products retailer’s half-year results failed to impress investors.

Halfords (HFD.L) reported group revenue of £893.3m ($1.18bn) for the first half of its financial year, which was up 4.1% on a like-for-like basis.

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Underlying profit before tax for the first six months of its financial year was up just 1% to £21.2m.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Shares in Halfords (HFD.L) are trading modestly lower today, in line with the cautious broader market mood. Nonetheless analysts remain optimistic towards the company with a consensus buy recommendation on the stock.”

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