Amgen Inc. agreed to acquire Horizon Therapeutics PLC for $27.8 billion, marking the largest healthcare merger of the year. Under the terms of the deal, Amgen will pay $116.50 for each Horizon share, a premium of 19.7% over the stock’s closing price Friday at $97.29 and nearly 50% over where it traded when the company said last month that it might be sold. While the shares of Horizon Therapeutics added 15.5%, Amgen edged 0.7% lower. Horizon is Nasdaq-listed and based in Ireland, with operations in Dublin, Deerfield, Ill., and a new facility in Rockville, Md. Horizon revealed last month that it was fielding takeover interest from Amgen, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, a disclosure prompted by a Journal report. Horizon develops medicines to treat rare autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases that are currently sold mostly in the U.S. Its biggest drug, Tepezza, is used to treat thyroid eye disease, an affliction characterized by progressive inflammation and damage to tissues around the eyes. Last year, revenue from Tepezza more than doubled, driving Horizon’s overall net sales 47% higher to $3.23 billion.

At the start of the new week, the SMI lost 0.3 per cent to 11,034 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 16 price losers and four price gainers. 42.14 (previously: 57.68) million shares were traded. Cyclicals such as ABB (-0.5%), Geberit (-0.3%), Holcim (-0.6%) and Sika (-0.6%) were sold. Investors took profits on Credit Suisse (-1.7%) after Friday's sharp rise. UBS fell by 1.0 per cent. Insurers were also sold off. Alcon stood out with a gain of 1.7 per cent. Citigroup counts the share among its favourites. Lonza was also sought after, rising 1.3 per cent. Partners Group (+0.4 per cent) and Nestle (+0.2 per cent) held up better than the market, too. In the second tier, Clariant slipped 1.7 per cent. The chemical company will write down around CHF 225 million on its factory in Romania, which will be reflected in its 2022 figures. At Julius Baer (-1.2%), the write-down of the Italian fund subsidiary Kairos Investment Management weighed on the share price. It will impact the bank's financial result this year.

European equities fell on Monday, at the start of a week that will include interest rate decisions from the U.S. and central banks in Europe, with investors also nervously awaiting key U.S. inflation data. The DAX closed 0.4 per cent lower at 14,307 points, the Euro-Stoxx-50 fell by 0.5 per cent to 3,922 points. The shares of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) rose by almost 3 per cent. The 10-year strategic partnership between Microsoft and the London Stock Exchange and the US company's 4 per cent stake in the exchange operator were seen as positive factors. Airbus was up 0.4 per cent in the wake of rumours that Air India could place a major order of historic size with Airbus and Boeing, according to trading. The announcement of a merger with Novozymes caused Chr. Hansen's share price to jump by a good 17 per cent to 522.40 Danish kroner. The shares of Novozymes, also listed in Copenhagen, fell by a good 15 per cent. Both biotechnology companies will achieve a combined annual turnover of around 3.5 billion euros. A trader added that the valuation could also be partially transferred to Symrise in the food ingredients sector. Therefore, their shares rose by 1.1 per cent. Va-Q-Tec is in advanced takeover talks with EQT, Stifel analysts noted. If these are concluded, the Swedish holding company intends to make a voluntary takeover bid to acquire 100 per cent of Va-Q-Tec shares at a price of 26 euros per share. According to the analysts, Va-Q-Tec has an almost unique product portfolio in the field of thermal insulation technology. However, the company has struggled to properly manage growth in recent years and lacks the scale to compete effectively in a global environment. With the support of EQT and the merger with Envirotainer, this could change. Va-Q-Tec soared by a good 40 per cent to 24.95 euros.

U.S. stocks jumped Monday, with investors anticipating softer inflation and a smaller interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve this week. The S&P 500 gained 56.18 points, or 1.4%, to 3990.56 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 528.58 points or 1.6%, to 34005.04. The Nasdaq Composite rose 139.12 points, or 1.3%, to 11143.74. U.S. consumer-price index data is due Tuesday ahead of several central-bank meetings. The Fed is set to deliver its policy decision on rates as well as its latest economic projections Wednesday. The rebound boosted energy stocks. Shares of Valero Energy rose $6.01, or 5.2%, to $120.66, making it the S&P 500’s best performer on Monday. APA rose $2.05, or 4.9%, to $43.91. Schlumberger jumped $2.13, or 4.5%, to $49.10. Tesla, one of the biggest decliners this year, shed $11.23, or 6.3%, to $167.82. Rivian (-6.2%) announced that it has halted talks with Germany's Mercedes-Benz over a proposed alliance to produce electric pickup trucks in Europe, as the US electric vehicle maker seeks to preserve its cash flow. Six companies, including Rivian and oil and gas company Baker Hughes (+3.8%), will enter the Nasdaq 100 next Monday, the Nasdaq announced Friday evening. The chipmaker GlobalFoundries gained 5.4% after the announcement of its inclusion in the index. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer (+0.9%) estimated on Monday that revenues from its vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology could reach between $10bn and $15bn by 2030. Microsoft (+2.9%) will acquire a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group in a ten-year partnership. The software giant will buy the stake from Blackstone (+5.1%) and Thomson Reuters. Private equity firm Thoma Bravo will acquire Coupa Software (+27%), a cloud-based business expense management platform, for an enterprise value of $8 billion.

Asian stocks were mixed. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.3%, supported by electronics and retail companies. Meanwhile, MonotarO loses 7.5 per cent after the online company's sales growth slowed year-on-year in November. In South Korea, the Kospi is trading 0.1 per cent lower. Shares in construction equipment and machinery group Hyundai Doosan Infracore increased by 4.7 per cent after the company secured a contract to supply engines to armoured vehicle maker Hyundai Rotem (-0.5 per cent).

On Monday, investors sold off the 10-year U.S. Treasury note following a weaker-than-average auction on Monday, pushing its yield to 3.613%. The 2- and 10-year rates rose to their highest levels in almost two weeks, while posting their third straight session of gains. The 2-year Treasury note was yielding 4.390%, up 3 basis points.

Citi reinstates Straumann with Sell and target CHF 88
Citi reinstates Sonova with Sell and target 220 CHF
Jefferies downgrades Accor to Underperform (Hold) - Target EUR 21 (33)

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