U.S. financial services group State Street declined to comment on press reports about a possible takeover of Credit Suisse, saying it remained focused on completing an acquisition announced last year. "As we have said before, we are focused on our pending acquisition of Brown Brothers Harriman's investor services business," a State Street spokesman said. "We will not be reacting to a recent press report." Swiss finance blog "Inside Paradeplatz" had claimed, citing a source close to the matter, that State Street was preparing a friendly takeover offer for Credit Suisse for 9 Swiss francs per share. The Swiss bank did not wish to comment. Credit Suisse shares were up 5 percent in the afternoon in response to the report, after earlier falling more than 7 percent on a profit warning.

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The Swiss stock market was unable to escape the negative sentiment on the stock exchanges in the rest of Europe and the USA on Wednesday. The SMI lost 0.6 per cent to 11,467 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price losers and five price winners. 74.9 (previously: 30.35) million shares were traded. Despite a renewed rise in bond yields, financial stocks were also among the losers. A new profit warning from Credit Suisse (CS) had already dampened the mood in the banking sector in the morning. In the afternoon, CS shares turned positive on takeover rumours and closed 3.8 per cent higher as the turnover leader in the SMI. The UBS share lost 2.6 per cent. Investors also divested themselves of insurance stocks. Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich were down 1.5 to 2.6 per cent. In the pharmaceutical sector, Roche recovered 0.3 per cent after the previous day's losses, supported by the conditional EU approval of the cancer immunotherapy Lunsumio. Novartis, on the other hand, fell by 0.2 per cent. Even defensive stocks were shunned: Nestle fell another 1.3 per cent after Tuesday's losses.

European equity markets closed lower on Wednesday as investors shied away from taking risks ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy meeting on Thursday and the release of US inflation figures the following day. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.6% to 440.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each lost 0.8%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gave up 0.8%, while the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.1%. Pernod Ricard SA on Wednesday set out its targets for the coming years, aiming for steady revenue growth backed by consistent promotional spend and the use of data. The French distiller is targeting annual organic top-line growth of 4%-7%, and hopes to approach the upper end of the range, it said ahead of a capital-markets event Wednesday. Pricing will be a key part of this growth, boosted by the use of the company’s proprietary predictive digital tools, it said. Industria de Diseno Textil SA said Wednesday that sales and earnings grew strongly in the first quarter of its fiscal year despite store closures in China and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The Spanish fashion giant booked quarterly sales of 6.74 billion euros ($7.22 billion) in the February-April period, beating the EUR6.29 billion expected by analysts, according to a poll of estimates taken from FactSet. Sales rose 36% from a year earlier.

U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as investors parsed an ambivalent outlook for the global economy and awaited key data about inflation. Spring's bumpy ride continued, sending major indexes sinking through the midday hours after stocks opened the trading day close to flat. The S&P 500 fell 44.91, or 1.1%, to 4115.77, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 269.24, or 0.8%, to finish at 32910.90. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 88.96, or 0.7%, ending at 12086.27. U.S. consumer-price index data due Friday will be crucial, said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. The data are expected to show inflation in the U.S. held steady at 8.3% in May, on the year. Western Digital fell $2.50, or 4.1%, to $57.82 after it confirmed reaching a settlement with activist investor Elliott Management that called for it to consider splitting its business. Campbell Soup Co. rose by 71 cents, or 1.5%, to $47.31 after it reported a rise in quarterly sales and lifted its sales guidance for the fiscal year. Smartsheet fell $2.82, or 6.9%, to $37.76 after the software company reported a wider quarterly loss. Citrus farmer Limoneira rose $2.54, or 22%, to $13.91 after reporting better-than-expected profit. As companies showed investors their first-quarter results over the past two months, profits generally held up, but with cause for concern lurking just below the surface, said Lisa Erickson, head of public markets at U.S. Bank. Input costs, including wages, have crept higher, and some companies have signaled earnings will face pressure in the second half of the year.

The stock exchanges in East Asia were weighed down by negative U.S. data on Thursday. Weak economic prospects continue to depress sentiment, according to reports. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.5 per cent and the Hang Seng Index is down 0.2 per cent in Hong Kong. Good Chinese trade data is not a supportive factor. Exports rose more than twice as much as expected in May and imports were also well above forecast.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 3.028%, up from 2.969% on Tuesday but below the high of 3.124% reached early last month. Bond yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.

UBS raises the Lanxess target to EUR 64 (59) – Buy

BoA lowers the Befesa target to EUR 77 (83) – Buy

Jefferies lowers the Siemens target to EUR 190 (200) – Buy

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