Global Market Turmoil: Santander Mulls Property Fund, MSCI's Indonesia Warning, Microsoft's Market Loss

In the rapidly evolving global market, several key developments have stood out in recent days. Banco Santander SA, Europe's largest bank by market value, is considering launching a new fund to invest in property development in Iberia, according to people familiar with the matter (Source 1). This move comes as Propy, a real estate technology company, secured a $100 million private credit loan to support its acquisition strategy (Source 2).

Meanwhile, in Asia, Chinese property firms have taken advantage of improving sentiment for the sector by offering the most bonds in almost four years (Source 3). This follows MSCI Inc.'s warning of a possible downgrade for Indonesia's stock exchange, leading to a sharp market volatility and the resignation of the Indonesia Stock Exchange CEO (Sources 5 and 6).

Elsewhere, the London Metal Exchange faced technical issues, delaying the start of trading on Friday (Source 7). Asian stocks looked set for a cautious open following a choppy US session, with doubts over the returns of heavy artificial-intelligence spending (Source 8).

Regulatory news came in the form of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's plan to write new rules for prediction markets (Source 9). Microsoft Corp.'s more than $400 billion wipeout in stock market valuation marked the second-largest in history if it holds through the close (Source 10).

In the UK, planning applications for new homes have risen, but home building has lowered, according to new data (Source 11). Wall Street professionals have a positive perception of prediction markets, but the sector's lack of liquidity is a significant challenge (Source 12). Several big European banks vowed to expand the use of significant risk transfers, signaling the asset class's continued growth (Source 13).

Swatch Group AG reported a 56% drop in full-year profit amid persistent weakness in China and declining watch exports to the US following the imposition of tariffs (Source 14). Fiona Yang, Asia Ex-Japan Equities Fund Manager at Invesco, shared her views on the potential market implications if Kevin Warsh were to be confirmed as the next Federal Reserve Chair (Source 15).

Currency traders are ramping up bullish Australian dollar bets in the options market as conviction grows for the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates on Tuesday (Source 16). Delta Electronics Inc.'s more than quadrupling in market value since April made it Taiwan's second-biggest stock, worth over $100 billion (Source 17).

Despite these developments, fund managers warn that the worst may not be over for Indonesia's stocks following MSCI's investability warning (Sources 18 and 19). Meanwhile, small US lenders have been buoyed by the broadening out of the bull-market rally, with investors seeing the momentum continuing even if the overall rotation fizzles out (Source 20).

Sources:

1. Banco Santander Mulls a Property Development Fund in Real Estate Push
2. AI Real Estate Business Taps $100 Million Private Credit Loan
3. Chinese Property Firms Offer Most Bonds in Years as Mood Lifted
4. Even London’s Ever-Optimistic Brokers See Gloom for Luxury Homes
5. Indonesia to Accelerate Market Reforms After MSCI Warning
6. Indonesia Stock Exchange CEO Resigns After Market Rout
7. London Metal Exchange Is Said to Delay Market Opening
8. Asian Stocks Set for Cautious Open as US Whipsaws: Markets Wrap
9. CFTC to Craft New Rules for Prediction Markets, Chairman Says
10. Microsoft Heads for Worst Market Loss Since DeepSeek Hit Nvidia
11. Planning bids for new homes rise in England but building remains low, data suggests
12. Wall Street Pros See Potential, Obstacles in Prediction Markets
13. Bank CEOs Vow to Step Up SRTs in Sign of Accelerating EU Market
14. Swatch Full-Year Profit Drops 56% Amid China Weakness, Tariffs
15. Invesco’s Yang on Potential Fed Chair Nominee
16. Australian Dollar Bulls Pile Into Options as Rate Hike Bets Grow
17. Delta Electronics Surges to $100 Billion Valuation, Tops Foxconn
18. Worst Yet to Come After Wild Day for Indonesia Stocks, Funds Say
19. ‘Crisis of Confidence’ Grips Indonesia Stocks After MSCI Warning
20. Small US Lenders Primed for Big Share Gains on Curve Steepening