Elon Musk should step down as chief of Twitter Inc., according to a poll the billionaire orchestrated and pledged to follow, casting new uncertainty on the social-media platform after more than seven weeks of turmoil since he took it over. More than 17 million Twitter users had voted by the time the poll on the platform closed after 6 a.m. ET, with 57.5% saying he should leave as head of the company. Mr. Musk, who in October closed a $44 billion deal for Twitter, had said when he launched the Twitter poll on Sunday that he would abide by the results. It isn’t clear who would take over leading Twitter if Mr. Musk steps aside as CEO, or what his role would be, given that he still owns the company. Most of the company’s prior leadership was either fired or left after he took over. The billionaire’s leadership at Twitter has been tumultuous and weighed on sentiment toward his other businesses, particularly car maker Tesla. Shares in the auto maker have fallen more than 56% this year, frustrating some retail investors who partly blame Mr. Musk’s focus on Twitter for the decline. Mr. Musk’s Twitter involvement also has dented Tesla’s brand image. Tesla shares shed 0.2% but held up better than the overall market. Resigning as Twitter CEO would allow Musk to devote more time to his duties as Tesla CEO.

After a positive start, the Switzerland stock market briefly fell into the red around mid morning on Monday, and despite recovering and holding above the flat line till the end of the session, settled flat as investors refrained from making significant moves. Worries about rising interest rates and their impact on global economic growth continued to hurt sentiment. After raising interest rate by 50 basis points last week, the Swiss National Bank said rate hikes will continue in the coming months. The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 10,837.94 in early trades, ended the session with a small gain of 2.85 points or 0.03% at 10,773.23. Credit Suisse, Sonova and Lonza Group ended lower by 1.6%, 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively. Givaudan, Partners Group and Geberit lost 0.8 to 1%. Swiss Life Holding, Swisscom, Sika and Roche Holding ended modestly lower. UBS Group surged nearly 1.5%. Holcim and Nestle advanced 0.75% and 0.71%, respectively. Alcon, Logitech and Swiss Re gained about 0.5%. In the Mid Price Index, Dufry gained 1.12% and Schindler Holding ended nearly 1% up. Barry Callebaut, Schindler Ps and Flughafen Zurich gained 0.75 to 0.83%. Belimo Holding and Straumann Holding lost 2% and 1.91%, respectively. VAT Group, SIG Combibloc and Bachem Holding lost 1.1 to 1.6%.

European stocks made gains on Monday as investors stayed upbeat despite lower Asia trading and lingering economic concerns. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up 0.3% at 425.9 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 rose 0.3% each. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.4%, as did the FTSE 100 in London. The share of the catering group Elior (-8.7%) was the biggest loser in the SBF 120 index despite the renegotiation of the commitments made to its banks regarding the debt ratio. Virbac shares (-5.4%) declined sharply as the veterinary laboratory announced its intention to accelerate its investments next year, which will reduce its profitability rate in 2023 compared to 2022 and prevent an improvement in its cash position over the respective period. Pharmaceutical group Sanofi (+1.3%) and biotech Innate Pharma (+24%) extend their collaboration on therapeutic antibodies engaging Natural Killer (NK) cells in oncology. Retailer Fnac Darty (-1.3%) secured the refinancing of its bond maturing in 2024 through the establishment of a bank credit line in the form of a Delayed Drawn Term Loan for an amount of 300 million euros. Orange (+0.5%) plans to increase the prices of all its mobile and internet packages. Credit Suisse raised its recommendation of Euronext (-0.1%) from "neutral" to "outperform". The stock is trading at a premium to its peers and "offers catalysts" related to its strong results and market share gains, the financial intermediary said.

U.S. stocks slipped Monday, dragged lower by shares of everything from banks to technology companies. Major indexes are on track to end December lower, a somewhat unusual occurrence. The S&P 500 has risen in 73% of Decembers since 1928, according to Dow Jones Market Data. As of Monday’s close, the S&P 500 had fallen 6.4% in December. Investors say markets have faced pressure from a variety of factors. Central bankers around the world have warned they will have to hold interest rates at higher levels for longer despite recent progress in the fight against inflation. Data on U.S. retail sales has fueled some concerns that consumers are beginning to feel the bite of high borrowing costs and inflation. A surge in Covid-19 cases in China has raised questions about its recent loosening of pandemic restrictions, too. The S&P 500 fell 34.70 points, or 0.9%, to 3817.66, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 162.92 points, or 0.5%, to 32757.54. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 159.38 points, or 1.5%, to 10546.03. Stocks fell broadly Monday, with 10 of 11 sectors of the S&P 500 ending the day lower. Facebook parent Meta Platforms slipped $4.95, or 4.1%, to $114.48 after the European Union charged it with antitrust violations linked to its Marketplace service. Walt Disney shares fell $4.30, or 4.8%, to $85.78 after the company’s latest film, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” generated less money than expected in its debut weekend. US food manufacturer Mondelez International (-0.7%) is selling its chewing gum business in the US, Canada and Europe to Perfetti Van Melle Group for $1.35 billion. Mondelez plans to focus on its biscuit, chocolate and other snack businesses, according to a statement. However, Mondelez intends to continue its chewing gum business outside the USA, Canada and Europe, especially the Stride brand in China. Among small caps, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals surged 268.1 per cent after the company released encouraging results from a drug trial.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 2.7% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down 1.9%. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.9% while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.7% lower. The Bank of Japan made a surprise decision to let a benchmark interest rate rise to 0.5% from 0.25%, pushing the yen higher and ending a long period in which, it was the only major central bank not to increase rates. The clear winners in Tokyo are shares from the financial sector with gains of up to 8 per cent, above all banks, but also insurers. Among other individual stocks, Agile Group in Hong Kong fell by 17 per cent after the company announced a capital increase.

U.S. government debt yields rose on Monday, as investors came around to the increasing likelihood that central banks around the world will keep raising rates in 2023 despite the economic impact. The 10-year Treasury note gained 10 basis points to 3.5927%. The 2-year Treasury note tightened by 5 basis points to 4.254%.

UBS lowers Givaudan target to CHF 2,800 (2,870) - Sell
Stifel cuts Ascom target to CHF 8.75 (13.90) - Hold
RBC lifts Danone to Outperform (Sectorperform) - EUR 69 (55)

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