Apple Inc. revealed a subscription podcast service and small wireless tags to track gadgets, two new products aimed at rivals that have complained the iPhone maker uses its strength to compete unfairly. The rollout, during Apple's first product event of the year, also featured a shelf of updated devices, including a further expansion of the company's in-house-designed processor chips to the iMac desktop computer. Apple also said it is bringing its new chips to the high-end iPad, making the tablet 75 times faster than its first iPad. The iPad Pro also comes with a brighter screen and speedy fifth-generation, or 5G, connectivity. The rollout of a paid subscription option within Apple's podcast app comes with a revamp of that app. The tracking device revealed Tuesday had been expected for a while. Called AirTag, the devices can be affixed to users' bags or other items to track with their iPhone, similar to a product by Tile Inc. Apple will begin taking orders for AirTag on Friday, with the products arriving April 30. They are selling for $29 apiece or as a four-pack for $99. Apple (-1.3%) slipped. The presentation of new products with the self-developed M1 processor did not provide positive momentum.

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On Tuesday the SMI lost 1.2 percent to 11,079 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 19 price losers and one price gainer. Sika was the only gainer, up 0.8 percent, benefiting from well-received business figures. The construction chemicals group significantly increased sales in the first quarter thanks to good business, particularly in China, and raised its revenue outlook for the current year. The fact that Swiss Re was trading ex dividend of 5.90 francs also contributed to the sharp decline in the SMI. The price fell by 7.5 percent or 6.80 francs. At Credit Suisse (-3.4%), many players may have been cautious again ahead of Thursday's quarterly results, after the bank recently racked up billions in losses following the collapse of hedge fund Archegos. In the second tier, Zur Rose fell 2.5 percent after its financial results. The online pharmacy grew strongly in the first quarter of 2021, but according to analysts at Baader, the 16 percent increase in sales did not reach the company's full-year target of 20 percent. They said this was mainly due to a drop in demand for flu and cold medicines as a result of stricter hygiene measures.

European stock markets ended lower on Tuesday, facing renewed concerns about the coronavirus and under the effect of corporate publications deemed disappointing, especially on the Paris Stock Exchange where Danone and Atos lost ground. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 1.9% to 433.8 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each fell by 2%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 gave up 1.55% while the FTSE 100 in London gave up 2%. Atos (-5.4%) reported revenues below analysts' expectations for the first quarter. Air France-KLM (-6.10%) raised more than 1 billion euros in its capital increase open to the public, which resulted in the French government taking a stake of nearly 29%. Danone (-1.8%) performed slightly below investors' expectations in the first quarter in its specialty nutrition business, Citi analysts observed. Mercialys (-4.2%) reported lower revenues for the first quarter. The shopping center operator reported a 9.7% drop in rental income for the period, to 42.59 million euros. Mediaset fell (-5.3%) in Milan after a court ruled on the complaint filed by the Italian group in connection with Vivendi's abandoned takeover of its pay-TV channel Mediaset Premium in 2016. According to several media outlets, the Milan court ordered Vivendi to pay €1.7 million in compensation to Mediaset for failing to fulfill its contractual obligations, a much smaller amount than hoped for. Shares in tobacco groups Imperial Brands (-7.3%) and British American Tobacco (-7.6%) fell in London.

U.S. stocks slipped, backing away from the records they notched at the end of last week. The Dow Jones index fell by a further 0.8 percent to 33,821 points. The S&P-500 lost 0.7 percent, with the Nasdaq indices the losses were of a similar magnitude. On the Nyse, there were 873 (Monday: 1,033) price gainers and 2,466 (2,305) losers. Unchanged 94 (107) stocks went out of trading. Business figures presented among others IBM and United Airlines. IBM (+3.8%) surprised positively with sales and profits, while the airline (-8.5%) flew even deeper into the red than expected. Heavyweights Johnson & Johnson, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble and Abbott Laboratories also opened the books. Johnson & Johnson (+2.3%) increased profit thanks to its Covid 19 vaccine. Philip Morris (+2.5%) came up with convincing numbers and raised its outlook. Procter & Gamble (+0.8%) had also presented surprisingly good figures and also announced price increases for some products. At Abbott (-3.6%) disappointed the profit forecast for the fiscal year, which is below the analyst consensus. The Dow heavyweight Boeing (-4.1%) was under heavy pressure, which traders explain with the surprise departure of the chief financial officer. Harley Davidson (+4.3%) continued to benefit from strong business figures.

The massive increase in corona infections worldwide is sending stock markets in Asia into a tailspin. As on the previous day, the Nikkei 225 was among the weakest stock exchanges in the region, falling by more than 2 percent. In China, Hong Kong in particular is in steep decline. Shanghai, on the other hand, manages to jump into the plus - the market is well maintained. In South Korea, the Kospi slipped into the red with a discount of 1.6 percent. Technology and Internet stocks were weak.

On the bond market, the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury Bonds eased nearly 4 basis points on Tuesday to 1.562%.

GS raises VW preferreds target to EUR 296 (284)/Buy
JPM raises BMW target to EUR 90 (85) - Neutral
DZ lowers Adidas target to EUR 280 (310) - Hold

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