Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and a blistering volley of Western sanctions in response, unleashed another day of global business upheaval - prompting Apple Inc. to cut off Russian sales of iPhones and threatening to shut down Volkswagen AG's flagship car plant later this month. The wide-ranging disruptions reflected several different dynamics that have played out since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last week. Key parts and commodities that typically flow out of Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter and an auto-parts supplier, have been bottled up inside the country. Sanctions against Russia, prohibiting a range of financial transactions and export activities, have businesses halting sales and other operations there. Other companies, with deep Russian roots cultivated over decades, have said they are reassessing their involvement in the country. Commodities giant Glencore PLC said it is reviewing its business in Russia, including stakes in EN+ Group PLC - the controlling shareholder of the world's No. 2 aluminum producer - and Rosneft Oil Co. Apple said it has stopped selling iPhones and other products in Russia, stating it was "deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine." Silicon Valley's tech giants have been facing pressure to cut off services and content to Russia.

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The Swiss stock market remained comparatively stable in the European context on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the SMI fell by 1 per cent to 11,862 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 12 price losers and 8 price winners. 62.2 (Monday: 67.15) million shares were traded. The relatively stronger resistance of the SMI was due to the fact that shares considered defensive are particularly heavily weighted in the leading index. These include pharmaceutical giants Novartis (+0.3%) and Roche (+0.4%) as well as food giant Nestle (+0.6%). The share of a rather less cyclical company, Swisscom, was also at the top with a plus of 1.9 per cent. In addition, Swiss shares may also have received support from the fact that the franc is considered a safe haven in times of crisis and is therefore likely to appreciate further. Foreign share buyers can therefore expect currency gains. Bank shares were again at the bottom of the index because their business is being affected by the extensive financial sanctions against Russia. UBS lost 5.2 per cent and Credit Suisse 5.9 per cent.

The European equity indices ended sharply lower on Tuesday, penalized by economic and geopolitical uncertainties linked to the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 2.4% to 442.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 were down 3.9% each. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 lost 3.9%, while the FTSE 100 in London dropped 1.7%. Russia stepped up its bombing in Ukraine on Tuesday, on the fifth day of its offensive, targeting the capital Kiev. Shares of Russian companies listed in London continued to fall while the Moscow Stock Exchange remained closed for the second day in a row. On other exchanges, companies with the most exposure to Russia, including Renault, Société Générale and Engie, fell. TotalEnergies SE said Tuesday that it will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia and will implement European sanctions regardless of consequences on its activities in the country. The French oil-and-gas major said it supports the sanctions put in place by Europe and is currently assessing the effect they will have on its activities. The company also said it has mobilized to provide fuel to Ukrainian authorities as well as aid to Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Atos SE said late Monday that it swung to a net loss in 2021, and set revenue, margin and cash-flow goals for 2022. The French IT company booked a net loss of 2.96 billion euros ($3.32 billion) last year, compared with a profit of EUR550 million the year prior, it said.

U.S. stock indexes fell and bond yields slipped Tuesday while oil prices rose to multiyear highs, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continued to whipsaw through markets. Stock markets have been battered in 2022, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both posting their worst two-month stretches since March 2020 to start the year. The S&P 500 fell 67.68 points, or 1.5%, to 4306.26, on Tuesday. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 597.65 points, or 1.8%, to 33294.95, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 218.94 points, or 1.6%, to 13532.46. Exxon Mobil Corp. said it is halting operations at a multibillion-dollar oil and gas project in Russia and will make no further investments in the country following its attack on Ukraine. The U.S. oil giant said Tuesday that it is preparing to shut down production from the massive Sakhalin Island development in Russia’s Far East. Exxon owns a 30% stake in the project, alongside Russian state-controlled oil producer Rosneft, Japan’s Sodeco and India’s ONGC Videsh. The company said it is taking steps to exit from the consortium. Domino’s Pizza Inc. is promoting its chief operating officer to chief executive as the chain struggles with staffing and equipment shortages that are hurting its ability to deliver pizzas and build new U.S. stores. Ritch Allison, the company’s CEO for the past four years, will step down from his role at the end of April, the company said Tuesday. Russell Weiner, Domino’s operating chief, will succeed Mr. Allison as the global pizza giant’s head on May 1. Mr. Weiner will stand for election to the company’s board at its annual shareholder meeting, which is scheduled for April 26.

After the stabilization of the past few days, fear of war returned to the Asian financial markets on Wednesday. However, the downward momentum in many places is not as strong as on Wall Street on the previous evening. The oil price (Brent) rallied significantly and jumped above the 110 US dollar mark. However, there is no talk of panic; supposedly safe havens such as the yen and gold even fall slightly, but had previously been in great demand.

U.S. yields fell significantly accordingly, in the ten-year range by 10 basis points to 1.73 per cent. At the end of the previous week, the yield was still at 1.99 per cent.

UBS lowers BASF target to EUR 58 (64) – Neutral

Deutsche Bank lowers Krones target to EUR 115 (122) – Buy

Hauck&Aufhäuser lowers Dr. Hönle target to EUR 50 (62) – Buy

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