Cisco Systems reported strong earnings and provided an upbeat revenue forecast for the October quarter, citing an easing of supply-chain constraints. Its shares rose in after-hours trading. The networking and security products company reported fiscal fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of 83 cents, compared with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 82 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue came in at $13.1 billion, which was above analysts’ expectations of $12.73 billion. Cisco’s guidance was also solid. It gave a revenue growth forecast range for the current quarter of 2% to 4% year-over-year - while analysts had been projecting a 0.6% fall. Cisco shares rose as much as 4.4%, to $48.72, initially following the release.

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After initial gains, the Swiss stock exchange fell steadily as it progressed and exited trading at a little changed level. Business was characterized by restraint, as the Fed minutes of the latest meeting will be published after trading hours. The SMI lost 2 points to 11,128 Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 13 price losers and six price gainers, one share closed unchanged. 26.49 million shares were traded (previously: 20.44 million). Financial stocks trended lower. Credit Suisse fell by 4.1 per cent, UBS by 1.1 per cent, Swiss Re by 1.5 per cent and Zurich Insurance by 1 per cent. Swiss Life held up better with a gain of 0.3 per cent. One market participant spoke of "solid" business figures with regard to Swiss Life. Net profit slightly missed expectations by about 1 per cent, he said. However, the other key figures were slightly above estimates. Technology stocks were under pressure, in line with the US technology exchange Nasdaq. Logitech fell by 2.4 per cent and Ams-Osram by 6.1 per cent.

After several sessions of progress, the European stock markets fell back on Wednesday, in a context marked by investors' concerns about inflation and the risk of recession. It was also fueled by the imminent release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting. At the close, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.9% at 439 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 were down 1% each. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt gave up 2%, while the FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.3%. In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer prices were 10.1% higher in July than the year before, up from 9.4% in June. Investors sold U.K. government bonds, reflecting expectations that the Bank of England will need to further raise interest rates to tame inflation. Moderna Inc. named a new finance chief roughly three months after the Covid-19 vaccine maker’s previous hire for the role departed abruptly due to an internal investigation under way at a prior employer. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company on Wednesday said James Mock will start as its chief financial officer, effective Sept. 6, and David Meline, who has been filling in as CFO, will retire on the same day. Mr. Meline, who had served as CFO since 2020 and was called back in May, will remain at the company as a consultant to help with the transition, Moderna said. Endo International PLC became the latest pharmaceutical company to file for bankruptcy under the weight of lawsuits alleging it played a role in fueling the opioid crisis. The drugmaker, domiciled in Ireland with operations in Malvern, Pa., filed for chapter 11 protection Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York after struggling with more than $8 billion in debt, competition from generic manufacturers and opioid litigation.

U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday after investors reviewed another batch of earnings from retailers and studied the latest signals from the Fed about future interest-rate moves. Shares recovered some lost ground midafternoon just after the Federal Reserve published the minutes from its July meeting, but they tailed off again to finish the session. At the closing bell, the S&P 500 was down 31.16, or 0.7%, at 4274.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 171.69, or 0.5%, to finish at 33980.32. The Nasdaq Composite declined 164.43, or 1.3%, to 12938.12. Stocks have mounted a furious climb in recent weeks as investors discounted concerns that persistently high inflation, rising interest rates and a looming economic slowdown had made corporate shares a bad bet. Even after Wednesday's decline, the S&P is up 17% from its June low as investors have reshuffled portfolios and scrambled to cover bearish wagers. With inflation still a critical concern, the Fed is expected to keep raising rates, but investors are wondering how quickly and for how long. Traders have been caught in the crossfire between comments from Fed officials who project rates rising aggressively, and market-based forecasts that expect the central bank to slow or reverse its rate hikes. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond jumped $2.43, or 12%, to $23.08 in volatile trading. Individual investors continued to pile into the stock, hoping to push shares even higher and punish professionals who have bet against it. Amazon Amazon. com Inc. is searching for a senior movie-studio executive to help lead its growing entertainment division, turning to rivals for a chance to poach an experienced Hollywood player. Amazon Studios has held conversations with several Hollywood leaders about the role, including Netflix Inc.’s film head, Scott Stuber, one of the streamer’s most powerful and visible executives, according to people familiar with the matter.

In a mixture of profit-taking and unfavourable news, the East Asian stock markets tended to be mostly lighter on Thursday. The Nikkei index in Tokyo lost 0.9 per cent to 28,970 points, while on neighbouring exchanges the losses were somewhat smaller at around 0.5 per cent. Sydney lost 0.3 per cent.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.894%, higher by about 0.3 percentage point since the beginning of August. The yield on the two-year note remained greater yet, climbing to 3.293%, up 0.4 percentage point from a recent low the last week of July.

Citi raises the Delivery Hero target to EUR 68 (56) – Buy

Citi raises the Lufthansa target to EUR 9.50 (8.50) – Buy

HSBC raises the Henkel target to EUR 89 (88) – Buy

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