Amazon and Stellantis N.V. announced a series of global, multi-year agreements that will transform the in-vehicle experience for millions of Stellantis customers and advance the mobility industry's transition to a sustainable, software-defined future. Amazon and Stellantis today announced a series of global, multi-year agreements that will introduce new connected experiences across millions of vehicles. Stellantis will accelerate its shift to becoming a sustainable mobility tech company through this relationship, which involves Amazon Devices, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Amazon Last Mile. Stellantis and Amazon will collaborate to deploy Amazon's technology and software expertise across Stellantis' organization, including vehicle development, building connected in-vehicle experiences, and training the next generation of automotive software engineers. Together, the two companies will create a suite of software-based products and services that seamlessly integrate with customers' digital lives and add value over time through regular over-the-air (OTA) software updates.

The start to the new year on the Swiss stock market continues to be lackluster. As on Monday and Tuesday, the SMI lagged most of its European counterparts on Wednesday and only ended the day virtually unchanged at 12,906 points thanks to a small closing rally. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 13 price gainers and 7 price losers. 29.78 (Tuesday: 34.52) million shares were traded. This was particularly true of Nestle in the middle of the week. The share price fell by 2.7 per cent after Jefferies downgraded the stock to "underperform". Nestle will have a hard time in 2022 to perform as strongly in the coffee and pet food business as it did at the height of the pandemic, the experts expect. While seven out of ten analyst firms recommended buying the stock, Jefferies said the time had come to issue an "underperform" rating after previously issuing a "neutral" rating. The ophthalmology share Alcon (-1.3%) closed in the red again and the pharmaceuticals and chemicals share Lonza (-0.8%) also fell. SMI daily gainers were Richemont (+3.1%) followed by Logitech (+2.7%).

European equity indices continued to improve on the record highs set earlier this week on Wednesday as investors expected the impact of the Omicron variant on the global economy to be limited. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% to a new closing high of 494.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.8%, hitting a new high of 7,376.4 points. The SBF 120 gained 0.7%, hitting a new all-time high of 5,707 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.7% and the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.2%. Iberdrola SA said Wednesday that it will issue a interim dividend of at least 16.8 European cents (19 U.S. cents) a share for 2021 and raise more than 1.10 billion euros ($1.24 billion) in a capital increase. The Spanish energy company’s interim dividend will at least match that of the last two years. The total dividend for 2020, including the final payment, was 42 cents. The Bilbao-based company also said it would implement a capital increase of up to EUR1.10 billion, and will issue 106.1 million shares. Following a brief acceleration in November, economic growth in the eurozone eased to a nine-month low in December, resuming a slowdown trend amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections, IHS Markit said Wednesday. The eurozone composite purchasing managers index fell to 53.3 in December from 55.4 in November, signaling the softest expansion in combined manufacturing and services output since March. The direction of growth differed by sector, with a slowdown in the eurozone’s services sector to blame for a weaker improvement at the composite level, IHS Markit said.

U.S. stocks traded lower as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent policy meeting for clues about plans to wean markets off pandemic-era stimulus measures. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% a day after the broad index pulled back from a record high as technology shares fell. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.5%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average - which set its own record Tuesday - lost 0.6%. General Motors Co. unveiled a new electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup Wednesday, a much-anticipated introduction that comes as buzz is growing for the truck’s future rival: Ford Motor Co. ’s F-150 Lightning. In a virtual presentation tied to the CES tech conference, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra revealed the Silverado EV, a plug-in version of GM’s top seller and biggest profit maker. The rollout of this new pickup - a model expected to hit dealerships in early 2023 - is part of a broader push by GM to electrify its global vehicle lineup, moving away from the gas engines that have long powered its cars and trucks. Chrysler plans to become an all-electric auto maker by 2028 as parent company Stellantis NV seeks to revive the fortunes of the nearly 100-year-old car brand. On Wednesday, Chrysler said it would launch its first battery-electric vehicle by 2025, and unveiled a new crossover concept called the Chrysler Airflow at the CES technology show in Las Vegas. The announcement provides a clue as to what Stellantis—the autos behemoth formed last year by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and France’s PSA Group—plans to do with the storied American brand.

Stock markets in East Asia and Australia are mostly in the red on Thursday after the surprisingly hawkish minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve meeting sent US equity markets tumbling on Wednesday. The minutes showed that monetary watchdogs had discussed not only ending bond purchases and raising interest rates, but also shrinking the Fed's bloated balance sheet. This raised fears that the central bank's efforts to curb inflation could stifle the economy. However, apart from Tokyo and Sydney, losses in the region's trading centres are mostly contained.

The two-year Treasury yield eased back Thursday after it jumped to the highest in almost two years on Wednesday, following the Fed minutes. They also helped to push the 10-year yield to its highest level since last April and those gains extended in Asian trading.

JP Morgan lowers Traton target to EUR 30 (34) – Neutral
Citi raises Michelin target to EUR 170 (165) – Buy
UBS lowers IAG target to 220 (225) p – Buy

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