Traton SE (+1,9%) said Wednesday that shortages of semiconductors and other parts are hitting sales in the third quarter and are expected to continue into the next year. Volkswagen AG’s truck maker said vehicle sales in the current quarter will be significantly lower than planned due to the shortages, which it expects to continue into and beyond the fourth quarter. All of its brands, including recently acquired Navistar, are affected, it said. While a recent rise in coronavirus cases in Malaysia and a related lockdown intensifies the supply shortage of semiconductors that is affecting the automotive industry, other vehicle parts are also affected by shortages, said Traton. Traton plans to publish nine-month results on Oct. 28.

The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's trading firmer. Shares in banks in particular recovered after concerns about the ailing Chinese real estate giant China Evergrande eased. The SMI gained 0.4 per cent to 11,838 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 16 gainers and four losers. 32.22 (previously: 37.43) million shares were traded. The shares of the luxury goods groups Richemont and Swatch, which are heavily dependent on business in China, improved by 2.1 and 1.8 per cent respectively. The shares of SMI newcomer Logitech were also in high demand. They closed 2.0 per cent higher after Credit Suisse included the shares on its list of "High Conviction Ideas". Also new to the list were Adecco (+2.3%). In the second tier, Sulzer rose 1.4 per cent. The engineering company gave details of the planned spin-off of its medical technology division Medmix, whose shares are to be traded on the SIX stock exchange for the first time on 30 September.

European stocks rose as concerns over giant property developer China Evergrande Group eased and ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate decision later. Mining, financial and oil stocks advance while gaming shares rise following an improved offer for Entain from DraftKings. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1% to 463.2 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 rose by 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 1% and the FTSE 100 in London gained 1.5%. Mining and oil and gas stocks rebounded on the back of a rebound in crude and other commodities. In Paris, TechnipFMC gained 4.8%, CGG 6.1% and ArcelorMittal 4.5%. In London, Antofagasta gained 6.9% and Tenaris rose 5.2% in Milan. Technip Energies (+5.1%) is to create a joint venture with the UAE's National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) for energy transition in the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East-North Africa region. EDF (+1.2%) is holding exploratory talks with General Electric (+1.6% on Wall Street) with a view to buying the nuclear activities of its subsidiary GE Steam Power. The real estate group Icade (+0.9%) obtained on Tuesday the approval of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) to list its subsidiary Icade Santé on Euronext Paris between 115 and 135 euros per share. Legrand (+2.2%) confirmed its medium-term objectives at an investor day.

U.S. stocks staged a comeback from their September rout Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled that it could begin to reduce its bond purchases soon and raise interest rates as early as next year. All three major U.S. indexes finished the day higher, marking the first day of gains for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average after a punishing four-session losing streak. Both indexes finished the day up 1% to record their largest one-day gain since July. Some of the fears spurred by Evergrande started to subside, and investors turned their attention to the Fed following the conclusion of its two-day September meeting. In a statement issued after its meeting, the Fed said that if economic progress continues broadly as expected, “a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon be warranted.” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell added later that officials generally agreed that “a gradual tapering process that concludes around the middle of next year is likely to be appropriate.” The U.S. central bank slashed its short-term benchmark rate to near zero during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. It also has been purchasing $120 billion in bonds each month. The central bank on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged, though new projections released showed half of 18 officials expect to raise interest rates by the end of next year, up from seven officials in June. The blue-chip index finished the day up 338.48 points, or 1%, to finish at 34258.32. The S&P 500 added 41.45 points, or 1%, to end at 4395.64. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 150.45 points, or 1%, to 14896.85. Gains in the S&P 500 on Wednesday were led by energy shares, extending the sector’s recent outperformance. Occidental Petroleum, Diamondback Energy and Marathon Oil each gained more than 5%. Financials stocks also rallied. FedEx shares lost $22.99, or 9.1%, to end at $229.08 after the delivery giant spent an additional $450 million due to problems attracting workers in its latest quarter, contributing to an 11% drop in profit. Shares of Adobe declined by $19.81, or 3.1%, to end at $626.08, despite the software company reporting higher profit and record revenue in the latest period. Shares of Facebook slid by $14.27, or 4%, to close at $343.21, weighing on the S&P 500’s communication services sector, which finished lower for the day. The utilities group was the only other sector to fall Wednesday.

While there is no trading in Japan due to the beginning of autumn holiday, gains on the Chinese stock exchanges are around 0.6 per cent, with Hong Kong having initially risen by 2 per cent. Here, the China Evergrande theme continues to dominate. Recovered from the day's lows, but still in the red (-0.3%) is the stock market in Seoul, South Korea. The hard-hit share of the financially troubled real estate giant Evergrande is gaining a good 10 per cent. However, it was also already up nearly 30 per cent at the day's high. It can only react with a day's delay to the news that Evergrande is making a current coupon payment on time after there was no trading in Hong Kong the previous day due to a public holiday.

In the bond market, yields on all but the longest-term U.S. government bonds climbed after the meeting, reflecting greater clarity about when the Fed will start and finish tapering its bond purchases and even when it might start raising short-term interest rates. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 1.332%, according to Tradeweb, up from 1.306% just before the Fed released its post-meeting policy statement and 1.323% Tuesday. Yields on shorter-term bonds, which are especially sensitive to changes in monetary policy, rose more, with the two-year yield climbing to 0.240% from 0.214% Tuesday.

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