Meta (META)

Shares in Meta rose in pre-market trading on Wednesday as the company revealed its latest augmented reality (AR) glasses during its annual developer conference. CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased a prototype of the new glasses, named Orion, marking the next phase of Meta's push into wearable technology.

The Orion glasses are designed to project digital images of media, people, games, and communications into the real world, offering an immersive blend of physical and digital experiences. Zuckerberg framed the product as part of Meta’s broader strategy to transition from desktops and smartphones toward eyewear capable of performing similar tasks.

“A lot of people have said this is the craziest technology they’ve ever seen,” Zuckerberg said during his keynote speech, wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Aut Zuck aut nihil,” an adaptation of Julius Caesar’s Latin motto meaning “Either Zuck or nothing.”

A pre-recorded demo highlighted the glasses' capabilities, including users playing a virtual Pong game and conducting video chats through augmented reality.

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Meta also doubled down on its artificial intelligence ambitions at the event, unveiling new products and features for its AI chatbot, Meta AI. The bot will generate personalised images automatically for users, integrating these AI creations into Facebook and Instagram feeds, the company announced.

Additionally, Meta introduced a major upgrade to Meta AI, which will respond to voice commands. Users can also choose from celebrity voices, including Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristen Bell, and Awkwafina.

“I think that voice is going to be a way more natural way of interacting with AI than text,” Zuckerberg said, highlighting the company’s vision for a more intuitive user experience as AI technology becomes more integrated into daily life.

Intel (INTC)

Intel shares were trending in pre-market trading as the chipmaker rolled out its latest AI chips, despite financial turmoil that could lead to the company being bought.

Intel launched its Gaudi 3 AI accelerator and its most powerful Xeon 6 CPU, providing them to server manufacturers for customer delivery.

The product releases came just days after reports surfaced that Qualcomm (QCOM) had approached Intel with a proposal for a friendly takeover, while Apollo Global Management had offered to invest up to $5bn (£4.1bn) in the company. The reports, based on anonymous sources and first published by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, sparked fresh speculation about Intel’s future.

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Intel is grappling with several financial setbacks, which are among the most severe in its 56-year history. Its market capitalisation has shrunk to a third of its value from four years ago, and its share price has plummeted by nearly 60%. As the company faces its third consecutive year of declining sales, it is exploring various strategic options.

BP (BP.L)

Shares in BP were lower following a slump in crude (BZ=F) prices after a report that Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel, and reports that the oil major is facing production issues in Europe.

BP has faced delays in restarting its Europoort oil refinery in Rotterdam after a power outage earlier this month, according to recent reports. The incident, which occurred on 3 September, involved damage to a power recovery turbine, causing an extended shutdown.

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Repairs have been completed after taking approximately two weeks, but the disruption has slowed the resumption of operations at the facility. The Europoort refinery, one of BP's major European sites, has a processing capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and features two main crude distillation units.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, following reports that top exporter Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its informal $100 per barrel price target in anticipation of expanding crude production.

H&M (HM-B.ST)

Shares of H&M tumbled as much as 8% on Thursday after the world’s second-largest listed fashion retailer posted a miss on operating profit and abandoned its earnings margin target.

The Swedish retailer cautioned that its operating margin would fall short of its 10% target for the year, citing unseasonably cold weather across the continent in June.

Operating profit for the third quarter reached 3.5bn Swedish krona (£259m), significantly below analyst expectations of 4.6bn krona (£341m).

Chief executive Daniel Ervér acknowledged that elevated living costs had also impacted performance, noting that “consumers’ living costs have remained high during the year”.

H&M also abandoned its earnings margin target for 2024, following an earlier warning of increasingly challenging market conditions.

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