British energy giant BP PLC said it will exit its nearly 20% stake in Russian government-controlled oil producer Rosneft, days after it was pressured to unload the holding by U.K. officials amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The British company faces a potential loss of as much as $25 billion - encompassing the maximum possible impact of selling the Rosneft stake, valued at $14 billion, plus a big, expected charge related to foreign-exchange losses. Currently, BP relies on Rosneft for roughly one-third of its oil-and-gas production. BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney and former CEO Bob Dudley will resign from Rosneft's board, the British company said. It is unclear how BP will exit the Rosneft stake during a tumultuous time for Russian companies, which face a growing array of sanctions and limits on their ability to access the global financial system. All of that could affect BP's ability to recover the holding's full value. BP's decision reflected a rapidly escalating pullback by Western businesses facing moral and political pressure to sever Russian relationships following the country's military campaign against Ukraine.

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The Swiss stock market recovered strongly from the losses of the previous days on Friday. On the one hand, new sanctions by the USA and the EU against Russia had a supporting effect. The SMI gained 3 per cent to 11,987 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, 19 recorded price gains, the only loser was the Swiss Re share. 63.99 (previously: 78.32) million shares were traded. In the very optimistic environment, Swiss Re lost 4.2 per cent. The reinsurer had returned to profit in 2021, but analysts had expected a better performance. According to Citigroup, profit was 22 per cent below the consensus estimate. The dividend at the previous year's level missed expectations by 5 per cent and Swiss Re gave no indication of a share buyback, the analysts criticized. They described the targets for the current year as uninspiring. Otherwise, however, shares of insurers and banks rose strongly. The shares of banks Credit Suisse and UBS gained 4.1 and 6.3 per cent respectively. Insurers Swiss Life and Zurich posted gains of 2.8 and 2.4 per cent. Holcim improved by 2.2 per cent. The cement manufacturer presented strong business figures and gave a solid outlook for 2022.

European stock markets rebounded on Friday as investors played down the impact of European and US economic sanctions against Russia. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 3.3% to 453.5 points, after losing 3.3% on Thursday. For the week as a whole, the pan-European index lost 1.6%. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 rebounded by 3.6% and 3.4% respectively on Friday. The DAX 40 rose 3.7% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 in London gained 3.9%. In Moscow, the RTS index recovered 26.1%, after plunging 38.3% on Thursday. BASF SE said Friday that revenue and earnings would decline in 2022 as it forecasted a slowing economy while it continues to combat continuing pressures from energy and raw-material prices. The German chemical company said January 2022 figures were above the same month of the previous year, but targeted full-year revenue of between 74 billion and 77 billion euros ($82.84 billion and $86.20 billion). That falls below 2021’s figure of EUR78.60 billion. Shares in Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA trade sharply down in early trading Friday after earnings and sales fell in 2021 and a key disposal program slowed at the indebted French grocer. Sales declined across business categories in Casino’s home market in the fourth quarter, leading to a lower margin in the second half and a slight decline in full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to EUR2.53 billion ($2.83 billion).

Stock futures fell and oil prices jumped Sunday evening as investors grappled with geopolitical developments including new sanctions by Western countries against Russia. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 2.2%, while futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index declined 2.4%. The stock market capped a turbulent week by rallying Friday, as investors furiously shifted bets on how the Federal Reserve will proceed with interest-rate increases in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The S&P 500 ended up adding 0.8% for the four-day trading week. However, the broad benchmark remained stuck in a correction after tumbling more than 10% from its January high on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite ended up adding 1.6% over the last four days, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed itself out of a big loss, ending the week roughly flat Etsy Inc.’s shares jumped Friday after the online marketplace said shoppers continued to come to its platform to buy from smaller sellers amid supply-chain challenges besetting other retailers. “During the holiday season, when many retailers were struggling with congested supply chains, Etsy sellers brought the benefits of shopping small to scale,” Chief Executive Josh Silverman told investors. Etsy on Thursday said it is increasing its seller transaction fee to 6.5% from 5%, effective April 11. Shares were trading up 11% Friday morning. Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and three of the nation’s biggest drug distributors have agreed to move forward with a landmark settlement with a majority of states, bringing thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic closer to the finish line. Drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp. , Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. would pay a total of $19.5 billion to 46 states over 18 years, according to the companies. Johnson & Johnson said it would pay $5 billion to 45 states.

On the Asian financial markets, oil and gold prices are rising in view of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the ever tougher sanctions imposed by the West against the aggressor Russia. The dollar is sought after as a supposed safe haven, with the dollar index rising by 0.8 per cent. The yen, on the other hand, is relatively inconspicuous. Share prices are falling in China, moderately in Shanghai and more sharply in Hong Kong. However, analysts believe that the bottom has now been reached after last week's sell-off. China could become one of the beneficiaries of the Russian isolation, they say.

The US yield on ten-year debt securities was little changed at 1.97 per cent. The gold price slipped more sharply below the 1,900 dollar per troy ounce mark.

UBS lowers Knorr-Bremse target to EUR 112 (124) – Buy

Deutsche Bank lowers Fresenius target to EUR 36 (38) – Hold

Morgan Stanley lowers Puma target to EUR 112 (120) – Overweight

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