Shell PLC said it took a $3.9 billion posttax charge related to its decision to exit Russia, only slightly denting an otherwise strong quarter bolstered by soaring commodity prices. The charge was expected and came alongside robust oil and gas trading profits during a period of extreme volatility. Shell's first-quarter profit on a net current-cost-of-supplies basis -- a figure similar to the net income that U.S. oil companies report -- was $5 billion, compared with $4.3 billion a year ago when performance rebounded from low pandemic energy demands. Shell said Thursday it had completed $4 billion of $8.5 billion in share buybacks it plans through the first half of this year. Its adjusted earnings stripping out certain commodity-price adjustments and one-time charges beat analysts' consensus forecast for the quarter. Shares rose more than 3.1%. Shell in early April said it planned to take accounting charges of between $4 billion and $5 billion as a result of exiting Russia, including terminating joint ventures with energy giant Gazprom PJSC. That followed the company's February announcement that it would end collaborations, including financing the halted Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany. Shell also said at the time it would exit its 27.5% stake in a major offshore gas project in Russia's Far East that is 50% owned by Gazprom and supplies around 4% of the world's liquefied-natural-gas market. Shell for the first time broke out profits from its renewable-energy business, rather than wrapping them into its integrated gas division. Shell's renewable-energy unit contributed $344 million to the company's overall $9.1 billion in adjusted earnings in the first quarter, compared with $4.1 billion in its largest division, integrated gas. The biggest chunk of Shell's financial hit from exiting Russia was tied to the Sakhalin 2 integrated oil and gas project in the country's Far East. Shell wrote down $1.6 billion tied to that asset alone, reflecting its loss of managerial influence and profit tied to the massive project. Another $1.1 billion piece of the Russia-related charges was tied to Shell's involvement in financing Nord Stream 2.

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The SMI declined by 0.03 per cent to 11,877 points on Thursday. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were ten price losers and ten price winners. 40.7 (previously: 31.02) million shares were traded. UBS and Credit Suisse slipped 2.8 and 0.6 per cent respectively. Swiss Re shares fell by 3.2 per cent after the reinsurer reported a net loss for the first quarter. Roche closed just in the red after Jefferies lowered its price target. Nestle, on the other hand, rose 0.7 per cent. Among the small caps, Adecco lost 5.8 per cent. Citigroup spoke of a weak development in the first quarter. Montana Aerospace stood out with a plus of 8.7 per cent. Dufry was able to conclude two important contracts in Brazil, yet losing almost 2 per cent.

Shares declined in Europe on Thursday as investors continued to assess the implications of tighter monetary policies on both sides of the Atlantic. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7 percent to 438.3 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 fell by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 lost 0.5%, while in London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.1%. Investor optimism dissipated on Thursday as the market took on board the prospect of several 50 basis point rate hikes this year and their likely impact on the economy and corporate profitability in the US and Europe. At the end of its monetary policy meeting, the Bank of England (BOE) raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 1% on Thursday, as expected by investors. Airbus (+6.3%) reported better than expected first quarter results. Arkema (+3.4%) raised its forecast for gross operating profit (Ebitda) for its Specialty Materials division in 2022, following the publication of robust results for the first quarter, which was nevertheless marked by strong inflation in raw material and energy prices. Air France-KLM (+2.1%) said it expects to report a breakeven operating result in the second quarter and a significant positive result in the third. Crédit Agricole SA lost 4% as provisions related to the bank's exposure to Russia and Ukraine weighed on its first quarter results. CGG (-18.7%) saw a sharp decline in revenues in the first quarter. UniCredit (+1.9% in Milan) announced that its net profit decreased in the first quarter.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) more than erased its previous day's gains on Thursday, after initially welcoming the Federal Reserve's (Fed) less restrictive than expected tone on interest rate changes. Losing more than 1,000 points in one session for the first time since the health crisis began in 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed down 1,063 points, or 3.1%, at 32,997.97 points. The broader S&P 500 index fell 3.6% to 4,146.87 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 5% to 12,317.69 points. Investor optimism dissipated on Thursday as the market priced in the prospect of several half-point rate hikes this year and their likely impact on the economy and corporate profitability. EBay (-12%) on Wednesday night delivered a weaker-than-expected outlook for the second quarter and lowered its annual earnings per share and revenue guidance. Shopify fell 15% in response to lower-than-expected quarterly results. The announcements weighed on the sector as a whole, causing Amazon's share price to fall 7.6%. Chipmakers were also among the biggest losers of the session. Nvidia fell 7.3%, AMD declined by 5.6% and Intel slipped 3.4%. The technology sector was particularly affected, with Apple losing 5.7% and Salesforce 7.1%. The CEO of Tesla (-8.3%) is said to be planning to run Twitter (+2.6%) himself for a few months once he has bought the social network, reported the American channel CNBC on Thursday. Bitcoin rose to about $36,468 by midmorning, slightly up from $36,432 at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, according to CoinDesk.

Benchmark indexes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and South Korea all retreated. Japanese stocks bucked the broader downtrend as the Tokyo market reopened after three days of holidays. The Nikkei 225 gained about 0.8%. Among the technology stocks, Lasertec fell by 5.3 per cent and Rakuten by 4.4 per cent. The share of the oil company Inpex gains 5.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 3.6 per cent. Meituan falls by 5.2 per cent and Alibaba by as much as 6.5 per cent. JD.com plunges 6.7 per cent after the company confirms it is on the SEC's list. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite loses 2.3 per cent. Hangzhou HIK Vision declines by almost 10 per cent again. Commodity stocks are also down: Ganfeng Lithium fell 4.4 per cent and Zijin Mining lost 7.1 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 1.2 per cent. The prices of the two internet companies Naver and Kakao drop by 4.3 and 5.4 per cent respectively.

Treasury yields rose across the board on Thursday, with yields on 7- to 30-year maturities all trading above 3%, as investors sold off both bonds and stocks amid a renewed focus on worries about stagflation. The 10-year Treasury yield gained 4 basis points to 3.006%, its highest level since the end of 2018. The 2-year rate, on the other hand, lost nearly 9 basis points to 2.671%.

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