General Motors Co. said it plans to reinstate its quarterly dividend, after suspending it in April 2020 to preserve cash during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Detroit auto maker also said it plans to resume opportunistic share repurchases, saying progress on key initiatives has instilled confidence it can fund growth in electric vehicles and other advancements while returning capital to shareholders. GM said it expects to pay out its first dividend of 9 cents a share on Sept. 15 and plans to increase its existing repurchase program of common stock to $5 billion, up from the $3.3 billion remaining in the program. GM shares rose 2.6% on Friday, following the news of the dividend reinstatement. The move marks a shift from GM's position early this year. In February, Chief Executive Mary Barra said the company wouldn't resume paying out a dividend, to give priority to spending on EVs and other growth plans. In the spring of 2020, GM and other car makers suspended their quarterly dividend payments, citing uncertainty around the health crisis and looking to preserve cash as they shut down factories to comply with lockdown orders and other Covid-19-related restrictions. Since then, GM's profits have rebounded, and it has set aside billions of dollars to expand its lineup of EVs, including hefty investments in battery factories. In all, the company plans to spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025. GM's share price has fallen about 34% since the start of the year, more than those of rivals Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV.

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On Friday, the SMI lost 0.1 per cent to 11,157 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price losers and 5 price winners. 30.77 (previously: 18.35) million shares were traded. Nestle increased by 0.4 per cent, Novartis by 1.1 per cent and Roche by 1.1 per cent. Financial stocks were under pressure. Credit Suisse lost 3.9 per cent and UBS 3.2 per cent. Technology stocks such as Logitech (-3.2 per cent) and AMS-Osram (-4.6 per cent) also lost ground. Sonova added 2 per cent. The provider of hearing solutions is acquiring the Chinese Hysound Group, one of the leading chains of hearing aid shops in China. Outside the SMI, U-Blox (+22%) attracted attention. Baader, the analyst firm, was full of praise. The margin growth, which was significantly above expectations, boosted the operating profit, which at CHF 54 million was twice as high as expected by the consensus.

European markets mostly fell Friday due to concerns about the cost of living and the looming prospects of a recession as investors digested gloomy data. Data released Friday showed German producer prices posted its biggest increase ever recorded, driven by higher energy prices, while U.K. consumer confidence hit a record low in August. At the close, the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.8% to 437.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 were down 0.9% and 1%, respectively. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt decreased by 1.1%, while the FTSE 100 in London managed to claw back 0.1%. In Germany, producer prices rose by the largest amount ever in July, driven by energy costs, according to data released Friday by Destatis, the federal statistics office. The index jumped 37.2% year-on-year last month, following a 32.7% increase in June and 33.6% in May. Sodexo fell 1.3%. Jefferies lowered its recommendation on the stock from "buy" to "hold" and its price target from 91 to 88 euros. As part of the proposed merger between TF1 (-1.8%) and M6 (-1.3%), the parent companies of the two groups, Bouygues (-0.4%) and RTL Group (-0.2% in Frankfurt), have proposed to keep separate linear television advertising departments for a period of 3 years, according to information from Le Figaro. Alstom's share price slipped by 1.8%, even though the railway equipment manufacturer received an order to supply 15 additional TGV trains to SNCF. First Berlin Equity Research downgraded its recommendation on Valneva from "buy" to "hold" (-1.8%), while reducing its target price from €12.50 to €12. Just Eat Takeaway.com shares soared by more than 25% on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, after the Dutch meal delivery specialist announced the sale of its 33% stake in the iFood joint venture to its co-shareholder Prosus (-1.3% in Amsterdam). Cineworld shares plunged 58% in London as the British cinema chain prepares to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks. Cineworld is expected to file for Chapter 11 protection in the US and is also considering insolvency proceedings in the UK, the US media outlet added, citing sources close to the matter.

U.S. stocks fell Friday, ending the week lower and snapping a four-week stretch of gains for the S&P 500, as investors second-guessed how aggressively the Federal Reserve will need to move to tame inflation. The S&P 500 dropped 55.26 points, or 1.3%, to 4228.48 and fell 1.2% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 292.30 points, or 0.9%, to 33706.74 and lost 0.2% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite declined 260.13 points, or 2%, to 12705.22 and fell 2.6% for the week. Some of the market’s biggest gainers over the past month were among its biggest losers Friday. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond dropped $7.52, or 41%, to $11.03, notching their biggest one-day loss ever, after billionaire activist investor Ryan Cohen sold his entire stake in the company. Bed Bath & Beyond had enjoyed a spectacular run, rising 122% since the start of the quarter, thanks in part to soaring interest among retail investors. But Mr. Cohen’s disclosure that he would sell his stake sparked a selloff midweek, threatening to unwind much of the gains investors had enjoyed in recent weeks. Other meme stocks popular among retail investors also slid. GameStop lost $1.44, or 3.8%, to $36.49, and AMC Entertainment fell $1.27, or 6.6%, to $18.02. Carmaker General Motors (+2.6%) announced on Friday that it was reinstating a quarterly dividend, after suspending it in April 2020 to preserve cash during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Home Depot (-1.2%) announced Thursday night that its board of directors had authorized a new $15 billion share buyback program. Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (-3.4%) announced it expects fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $6.65 billion, above analysts' estimates.

In Asia, major indexes broadly closed lower. The Chinese stock markets however turn positive due to another interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank - especially in Hong Kong. Shanghai closed on a positive note, Hong Kong is holding its ground after previously suffering significant losses. In Tokyo, the support measures in China do not impact the Nikkei-225 which loses 0.6 per cent. The Kospi in South Korea is particularly weak, down 1.3 per cent.

Long-dated U.S. government debt yields rose on Friday, sending the 10- and 30-year maturities up for a third straight week, as traders assessed how high Federal Reserve officials might take interest rates to combat persistent inflation. The 10-year Treasury note increased by 10 basis points to 2.980%. The 2-year Treasury note added 3 basis points to 3.251%.

Baader lifts Siegfried to CHF 1,050 (1,032) - Buy

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H&A raises Schoeller Bleckmann to EUR 101 (84) - Buy

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