Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche benefited in the first quarter from strong sales of new medicines and continued high demand for Corona tests. Sales rose more than expected. Roche Holding AG reiterated its outlook, which calls for a slowdown in growth and an increase in profits. Sales rose 10 percent to 16.4 billion Swiss francs from January to March. Analysts had forecast a consensus of 16.1 billion. At constant exchange rates, growth was 11 percent. In the Pharmaceuticals Division, sales increased by 5 percent to 11.2 billion Swiss francs. In Diagnostics, revenues climbed 22 percent to 5.3 billion Swiss francs thanks to continued strong demand for Corona tests. Roche does not report earnings figures for the first quarter. For the full year, Roche continues to expect sales to remain stable, with growth in the low single digits. Sales of Corona medicines and diagnostics are expected to decline by about 2 billion to around 5 billion Swiss francs. In addition, a biosimilar-related decline in sales of 2.5 billion Swiss francs is expected. After adjusting for these factors, the Group's sales are expected to grow in the high single digits. Earnings per share are forecast to increase in the low to mid-single-digit range. The projections are based on constant exchange rates. Roche plans to increase the dividend once again.

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At the end of the week, the SMI lost 0.3 per cent to 12,258 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price losers and 5 price winners. 39.26 (previously: 39.02) million shares were traded. Holcim advanced 3.7 per cent after the presentation of results. Thanks to sustained high demand, the cement manufacturer achieved a significant double-digit percentage increase in both sales and results in the first quarter and is more optimistic about the year as a whole. Richemont fell by 2.6 per cent. The luxury goods manufacturer was held back by the first-quarter figures displayed by its French competitor Kering. The development in China in particular had a negative impact. Swatch (-3.1%) also lost considerable ground. ABB slipped by 3.5 per cent. The share of the index heavyweight Nestle (+1.9%) benefited from the first quarter figures, presented the previous day, which were well received by the market. The shares of pharmaceutical giant Roche (+0.7%) also held up well. Meanwhile, the papers of competitor Novartis closed 0.2 per cent lower.

European shares fell Friday in reaction to Jerome Powell's comments that the Federal Reserve was likely to raise interest rates by a half percentage point at its meeting next month and as he indicated similar rate rises could be warranted after that to lower inflation. The Stoxx Europe index lost 1.8% to 453.3 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 were down 2% and 1.9%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 lost 2.5% and in London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.4%. For the week as a whole, the Stoxx Europe 600 slipped by 1.4%. Kering declined by 4.3% as growth at its Gucci brand, its largest division in terms of sales and earnings, slowed sharply in the first quarter due to the latest containment measures in China. Sartorius Stedim Biotech (-8%) on Thursday reaffirmed its financial targets for 2022, after posting a 31.6% rise in first-quarter sales. GTT (-5.2%) reported a 22% year-on-year decline in first-quarter revenue. Ipsos (+4.5%) confirmed its targets for 2022 after recording organic revenue growth of 12.3% year-on-year in the first quarter. Bureau Veritas (+4.6%) reported higher than expected revenues. In the first three months of the year, the group's revenue reached €1.29 billion, with organic growth of 8% year-on-year. Solutions 30 (+1.8%) was supported by takeover rumours. According to Bloomberg, private equity firm Bain Capital is considering a takeover of the digital services provider.

Worries about slowing corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve’s plans to rapidly raise interest rates dragged the Dow industrials to their worst day since 2020. The broad-based S&P 500 fell at least 1% for the third consecutive week, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index lost at least 2% for a third straight week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst one-day percentage change since October 2020, losing 981.36 points, or 2.8%, to close at 33811.40. The S&P 500 dropped 121.88 points, or 2.8%, to 4271.78, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 335.36 points, or 2.5%, to finish at 12839.29. Some stocks fell substantially Friday after reporting results. Shares of HCA Healthcare dropped $58.80, or 21.8%, to $210.64 after the hospital chain lowered its guidance for the year. The company said volume and revenue for the first quarter were offset by higher-than-expected inflationary pressures on labor costs. Healthcare stocks are often considered defensive, with money managers betting that consumers will pay medical bills before making discretionary purchases. The S&P 500’s healthcare sector fell 3.6%, its worst day since June 2020. Gap shares fell $2.57, or 18%, to $11.72 after the retailer cut its fiscal first-quarter guidance and announced the departure of the president and chief executive of its Old Navy business. It was the stock’s lowest close since July 2020. Shares of airlines held up better than the broader market. United Airlines Holdings added 61 cents, or 1.2%, to close at $51.46, while American Airlines Group slipped 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $20.18. On Thursday, American said its sales hit a record in March, the first month since the pandemic began in which the airline’s total revenue surpassed 2019 levels. United said it has been able to pass the rise in fuel prices on to consumers. Shares of American Express fell $5.20, or 2.8%, to $180.54 after the credit-card company logged first-quarter net income of $2.10 billion, down from $2.24 billion a year earlier, even as spending on travel and entertainment surged. Kimberly-Clark jumped $10.41, or 8.1%, to $138.51 after the maker of Huggies diapers and Cottonelle toilet paper raised its sales-growth projection for 2022 and said first-quarter sales increased compared with the year before.

Losses in Asian markets were heavy following Wall Street's biggest one-day drop since 2020 on Friday. The Nikkei index in Tokyo lost 1.6 per cent to 26,664 points, on the Chinese stock exchanges the indices slumped by up to 2.6 per cent. Among the individual stocks, Nissan Motor declined by 4.0 per cent in Tokyo, weighed down by reports that its partner Renault wants to sell part of its stake in the Japanese company.

On Friday, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed a half percentage point interest rate increase is on the table for May with possibly more to come in future meetings, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond fell by 1 basis point to 2.928% from 2.845% on Thursday evening, but still ended the week at its highest since December 2018. The 2-year bond, which is more sensitive to Fed rate expectations, finished almost flat at 2.692%, after climbing to 2.789%, also a high since late 2018.

DZ Bank lifts Nestle target to CHF 139 (137) - Buy

Deutsche Bank raises target Glaxosmithkline to 1,600 (1,500) p - Hold

LBBW cuts ABB to Hold (Buy) - Target 33 (36) CHF

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