Credit Suisse Group AG said Wednesday that revenue fell in the first quarter and announced a reshuffle to its executive board, including the departure of its finance chief. The Swiss lender said quarterly revenue dropped 42% on year to 4.41 billion Swiss francs ($4.58 billion). Analysts had expected revenue at CHF4.93 billion, according to a consensus estimate provided by FactSet. The company said market volatility and steps taken to reduce its risk appetite had hurt its performance in wealth management and investment banking. Chief Financial Officer David Mathers is leaving the company, Credit Suisse said. The bank named Francesca McDonagh, currently chief of its Europe, Middle East and Africa region, as head of wealth management. Chief executive of the Asia Pacific region, Helman Sitohang, is stepping down, it also said. Edwin Low will replace him on the executive board. The reshuffle came as Credit Suisse posted a net loss of CHF273 million widened from a CHF252 million loss a year earlier.

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The stock market in Switzerland was unable to maintain strong gains from early trading on Tuesday and closed weak. The SMI lost 1.3 per cent to 11,933 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price losers and five price winners. 48.36 (previously: 43.09) million shares were traded. The UBS figures were positively received. Above all, the operating performance was better despite the negative general conditions and the consequences of the Ukraine war and sharp lockdowns in China. The stock initially gained about 2 per cent, but fell with the market in late trading, rising only 0.1 per cent. There was talk of a solid start to the year at Novartis (+0.4%). While EBIT in Innovative Medicines had slightly missed expectations, this was offset by good performance at Sandoz. Kuehne + Nagel shed 3.2 per cent despite strong figures. However, the logistics company did not provide a quantitative outlook and sees a "normalisation" in the second half of the year.

European stock indices fell for the third straight session on Tuesday as investors feared further confinements in China and anticipated a tightening of monetary policies. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.9% to 441.1 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gave up 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 closed down 1.2%, while in London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.1%. HSBC Holdings PLC said its profit for the first quarter fell 28% year-over-year, as it made provisions for souring loans in Russia and China, but the banking giant said rising global interest rates would help it hit longer-term targets. The London-based lender’s profit attributable to ordinary shareholders totaled $2.8 billion in January through March. While earnings had been boosted a year earlier by the release of $435 million of provisions as the global economy recovered from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the first three months of this year HSBC’s earnings were dented by $642 million of new expected credit losses. Banco Santander SA’s net profit increased by more than expected in the first quarter as higher revenue offset a rise in loan-loss provisions. The Spanish bank--one of the eurozone’s largest lenders--said Tuesday that it posted a quarterly net profit of 2.54 billion euros ($2.72 billion), a 58% increase from the same period a year earlier, and backed its targets for the full year.

U.S. stocks fell, extending their April losses, as investors digested earnings reports from leading companies and weighed concerns about inflation and the spread of Covid-19 in China. Stocks slid for much of Tuesday, dropping further late in the session. The S&P 500 closed down 2.8%, or 120.92 points, to 4175.20, a day after tech stocks led major indexes higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.4%, or 809.28 points, to 33240.18, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 4%, or 514.11 points, finishing at 12490.74. All three indexes are on track to lose at least 4% this month, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq -- which on Tuesday posted its largest one-day percentage decline since September 2020 -- down more than 12% in April. The small-cap Russell 2000 finished the day at its lowest close since December 2020. Shares of Microsoft fell more than 2% in after-hours trading after the software company announced first-quarter earnings and revenue above analysts' expectations. Google parent Alphabet reported slower sales growth in the first quarter, sending its shares down more than 4% after the close. Fears about a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in China, and strict lockdowns imposed to fight the outbreak there, have heightened investors' concerns about the global economy and prompted choppy trading in recent sessions. Inflation is weighing on companies and consumers, while the Federal Reserve's indications that it will quickly tighten monetary policy threaten to drag on growth.

The East Asian stock exchanges and the Australian share market only partially followed the extremely weak Wall Street on Wednesday. The Chinese stock exchanges even managed to hold their ground. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index was down 1.4 per cent at 26,328 points after higher losses in the meantime. In Seoul, the index fell by 1.1 per cent and in Sydney by 0.6 per cent.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note closed at 2.773%, down from Monday's 2.825%. The yield on the benchmark note remains close to its highest level since 2018 as investors have sold bonds in anticipation of higher interest rates. Bond yields rise as prices fall.

UBS lowers the Unicredit target to EUR 14.10 (20.50) – Buy

UBS lowers the target Intesa Sanpaolo to EUR 2.70 (3.15) – Buy

Citi raises the Telefonica target to EUR 4.60 (4.05) – Neutral

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