Swedish telecom equipment group Ericsson announced that it has reached a multi-year, global patent license agreement with Apple Inc. (-0.3%), ending all ongoing patent-related legal disputes in several countries. The agreement includes a cross-license relating to patented cellular standard-essential technologies and grants certain other patent rights. Ericsson estimates the fourth quarter 2022 IPR licensing revenues will be 5.5 billion Swedish kronor - 6.0 billion kronor, which includes effects of the agreement with Apple covering sales from January 15, 2022, and ongoing IPR business with all other licensees. Ericsson shares climbed 3.9% in response to the announcement, after trading at a slight discount for most of the European trading day.

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On Friday, the SMI added 0.6 per cent to 11,068 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 19 price gainers and 1 price loser. 57.67 (previously: 39.04) million shares were traded. Credit Suisse increased by 6.8 per cent. The bank completed its capital increase worth billions. The rights issue was accepted by 98.2 percent of the shareholders. About 873 million new shares had been issued, resulting in a gross inflow of about 2.24 billion Swiss francs. In total, the transactions amount to gross proceeds of around 4 billion Swiss francs, as planned. Meanwhile, analysts at Credit Suisse have downgraded the banking stocks Julius Baer and UBS. UBS's total return is expected to remain high in 2023, while Julius Baer's is estimated to be below average. UBS gained 0.7 per cent and Julius Baer 0.4 per cent. Cyclicals were among the sought-after stocks. ABB added 1.4 percent, Holcim 0.7 percent and Sika 2.9 percent. Defensive stocks Nestle (-0.2 per cent), Novartis (+0.2 per cent) and Roche (+0.5 per cent) lagged behind.

European stocks were trading in positive territory on Friday, despite a context still marked by investor concerns about the high level of inflation and the risk of recession. At the close, the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.8% to 439.1 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 added 0.5% each. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 edged 0.7% higher, while the FTSE 100 in London increased by 0.1%. Pharmaceutical company Ipsen (-4.2%) announced that a phase 3 study evaluating its lung cancer drug Cabometyx (cabozantinib) had failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall survival in the final analysis. Worldline fell 3.7%. JPMorgan lowered its recommendation on the electronic payments specialist to "neutral" from "overweight" to take into account a "challenging" first half of 2023. Technology and defence group Thales (-2.2%) announced that the sale of its Ground Transportation Systems (GTS) business, which specialises in rail signalling, to Hitachi Rail, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023, rather than early next year. Energy producer TotalEnergies (-0.9%) will stop consolidating its 19.4% stake in Russia's Novatek group, resulting in an impairment charge of around $3.7 billion in its fourth quarter accounts. The French group has also decided to remove its two directors from Novatek's board. Telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson (+1.3% in Stockholm) announced on Friday that it had reached a global, multi-year patent licensing agreement with Apple, ending a year of litigation over the use of the Swedish group's technology in devices such as the iPhone.

Stocks turned lower after producer-price data came in hotter than expected, disappointing investors who had hoped for signs of easing inflation before the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week. The S&P 500 fell 29.13 points, or 0.7%, to 3934.38 Friday after wavering for much of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 305.02 points, or 0.9%, to 33476.46. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite slipped 77.39 points, or 0.7%, to 11004.62. Data releases over the past week have served as a reminder of just how difficult it is to call when inflation will ease, which would allow the Fed to pump the brakes on its policy tightening. Investors had been hopeful that Friday’s inflation reading would offer evidence that price pressures in the U.S. are abating and would help solidify a smaller interest-rate increase next week. Semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom (+2.6%) reported strong fourth-quarter results and announced it expects first-quarter revenue of $8.9bn, slightly above analysts' expectations of $8.8bn. Wholesale retailer Costco (+0.3%) revealed lower-than-expected revenue in the first quarter of its 2022-2023 fiscal year, hurt in part by a decline in online sales. Electronic signature specialist DocuSign (+12.4%) published adjusted third-quarter earnings of 57 cents per share, well above the 15 cents per share expected by analysts. Sportswear specialist Lululemon Athletica (-12.9%) disclosed that its stock rose 85% year-on-year in the third quarter to $1.7 billion and issued earnings guidance at the lower end of analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer (-0.1%) on Friday announced a 2.5% increase in its quarterly dividend from 40 to 41 cents per share, on the back of "strong financial performance in 2022". The new annual dividend of $1.64 per share represents a yield of 3.17%, based on the closing price.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down 2.1%. The index is burdened by a significant increase of Corona infections in China, which puts a damper on hopes for further relief from Corona restrictions. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.6%. In South Korea, the Kospi edges 0.6 per cent lower.

Long-dated U.S. government debt yields rose on Friday, giving the 10-year rate its biggest weekly advance in five weeks, after data showed that wholesale price inflation picked up in November by more than expected. The 10-year Treasury note was yielding 3.591%, up 10 basis points while the 2-year Treasury note rose 3 basis points to 4.342%.

Citi raises Swatch target to CHF 278 (272) - Neutral

Berenberg lifts Belimo Holding target to CHF 535 (440) - Buy

CS lowers Julius Baer to Neutral (Outperform) - Target CHF 64

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