Givaudan, the Geneva-based fragrance and flavour giant, closed the first nine months of 2022 with significantly higher sales, despite a challenging environment. However, revenue growth was below analysts' expectations. Turnover reached 5.46 billion francs, 7.7% higher than a year earlier. Adjusted for currency effects, growth was 6.1% on an annual basis. In the third quarter alone, sales increased by 6.7% to CHF 1.69 billion. The Fragrance and Beauty Division improved its revenue by 5.9% to CHF 2.49 billion, driven by the fine fragrance business, whilst the functional fragrance segment grew slightly. Givaudan Taste and Wellness recorded sales of CHF 2.97 billion, an increase of 9.3%, following an "already high" performance of 7.2% in the first nine months of 2021. Geographically, Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) grew by 8.1% to over CHF 2 billion, Asia Pacific by 5.2% to CHF 1.34 billion, despite the impact of ongoing health measures in China, and Latin America by 16.6% to CHF 640 million. Givaudan remains faithful to its habit of not providing any short-term forecasts, but reiterates its medium-term organic growth ambition, notes the Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB), praising the company's valuable defensive qualities in case of a recession next year. Capital owners were less understanding. Givaudan, down 6.8%, was the biggest loser in the SMI index on Tuesday.

The Switzerland stock market ended on a weak note on Tuesday, extending recent losses, as inflation and growth worries, and looming rate hikes continued to hurt sentiment. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 10,122.51 a little before noon, ended the session with a loss of 54.69 points or 0.53% at 10,207.83. Givaudan, down 6.8%, was the biggest loser in the SMI index. Sonova, Holcim, Partners Group, Sika and Alcon ended lower by 1.6 to 2.2%. UBS Group, Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re, Richemont and Geberit also ended notably lower. Credit Suisse and Roche Holding advanced 0.76% and 0.53%, respectively. Novartis gained about 0.25%. In the Mid Price Index, AMS, Kuehne & Nagel, VAT Group, Ems Chemie Holding and Swatch Group lost 2.5 to 3.2%. Flughafen Zurich, Temenos Group, Julius Baer and SIG Combibloc also declined sharply. Galenica Sante, Roche Holding and Bachem Holding gained 1 to 1.4%. Lindt & Spruengli and PSP Swiss Property posted modest gains.

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday, posting losses for a fifth straight session, as worries about surging inflation, rising interest rates and slowing growth continued to weigh on sentiment. In its World Economic Outlook published today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts global growth will slow to 2.7% next year, 0.2 percentage points lower than its July forecast. The IMF anticipates 2023 will feel like a recession for millions around the world. 'The worst is yet to come, and for many people 2023 will feel like a recession,' the report said, echoing warnings from the United Nations, the World Bank and many global CEOs. The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 0.56%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 1.06%, Germany's DAX ended 0.43% down, and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.13%, while Switzerland's SMI closed lower by 0.53%. In the UK market, Ocado Group, Legal & General, Hargreaves Lansdown, Harbour Energy, Aviva, Standard Chartered, Prudential, Ashtead Group, Croda International, Antofagasta, Natwest Group and Rio Tinto lost 2 to 5.3%. Rentokil Initial, Haleon and Sainsbury (J) gained 1.3 to 1.8%. Imperial Brands, Unilever, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Compass Group also ended notably higher. In Paris, STMicroElectronics, WorldLine, Veolia, BNP Paribas, Renault, Capgemini, Credit Agricole, Engie and ArcelorMittal shed 1 to 3.2%. Air France-KLM climbed 2.3%, Sanofi gained about 2% and Carrefour surged nearly 2%. Valeo, Michelin, Vinci and Hermes International also posted notable gains. In the German market, Brenntag plunged nearly 8%. BASF, Covestro, Symrise, Infineon Technologies, E.ON. HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Bank, Porsche Automobil, RWE and Sartorius lost 2 to 4%. Qiagen rallied about 5%. Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care, Vonovia, Bayer, MTU Aero Engines, Daimler and Puma gained 1 to 3.2%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell Tuesday in volatile trading, upended by Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey’s remark that the U.K. central bank’s plan to rescue pension funds hit by interest-rate increases will end as scheduled Friday. The Nasdaq Composite slipped into a bear market, its second of the year. The S&P 500 and the Dow are already in bear markets, defined in Wall Street parlance as a decline of 20% or more from a recent peak. The S&P 500 fell 23.55 points, or 0.7%, to 3588.84. The Nasdaq fell 115.91 points, or 1.1%, to 10426.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 36.31 points, or 0.1%, to 29239.19, aided by big gains in Amgen Inc. The biotech stock jumped $13.29, or 5.7%, to $245.44, making it the best performer in the Dow on Tuesday. U.S. inflation data due Thursday will show whether the Fed’s sizable interest-rate rises are working to tame soaring consumer prices. A larger-than-forecast rise could bolster expectations that Fed officials will opt for another supersize 0.75 percentage point increase at their next meeting. Meanwhile, investors are bracing for the first wave of major corporate earnings reports due this week, which are expected to show companies struggling with high rates and weakening consumer demand. PepsiCo reports Wednesday while financial titans such as BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley report later in the week. Biotech company Amgen (+5.7%) was the biggest gainer on the DJIA after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation to "overweight" from "in-line weight". The bank also raised its price target to $279 from $257. American Airlines (+1.7%) expects to post higher-than-expected third-quarter revenue on the back of better-than-expected revenue per passenger. Shares of the chauffeur-driven vehicle (VTC) company plunged after the Labor Department announced a plan to reform the regulations that determine whether a task worker is considered an employee or a freelancer. Uber shares plunged 10.5% and Lyft fell nearly 11% to $11.6, to its lowest level since its initial public offering. Shares of meal delivery specialist DoorDash dropped 5.7, also hitting an all-time low. ForgeRock shares soared 48% to $22.48 after the software company announced an agreement to be acquired by investment firm Thoma Bravo for $23.25 per share in cash, or $2.3 billion in total.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Wednesday. The Bank of Korea raised the key interest rate for the second time in three months by 50 basis points to 3.00 per cent. However, this was expected by the market, which is why the Kospi recovered from initial losses and gained 0.4 per cent. The biggest drop was in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index slipped 2.0 per cent. The Shanghai Composite edged 1.2 per cent lower. The Nikkei-225 in Tokyo declines by only 0.2 per cent to 26,355 points.

Two- and 10-year U.S. bond yields advanced to two-week highs on Tuesday, while the 30-year reached its highest level since 2014, as traders priced in the prospects of rising interest rates and turned their attention to the next major inflation report later this week. The 2-year Treasury note remained at 4.312%, close to its highest level since 2007. The 10-year Treasury note was rose 5 basis points to 3.931% after briefly breaking through the 4% mark on Tuesday morning. The U.S. bond market was closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday.

Goldman Sachs lowers Credit Suisse to CHF 4.70 (5.80) - Sell
UBS cuts Schindler target to CHF 265 (275) - Buy
CS reduces UBS target to CHF 22 (22.50) - Outperform

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