Microsoft Corp. said it is making a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, substantially bolstering its relationship with the startup behind the viral ChatGPT chatbot as the software giant looks to expand the use of artificial intelligence in its products. Microsoft said the latest partnership builds upon the company’s 2019 and 2021 investments in OpenAI. The companies didn’t disclose the financial terms of the partnership. Microsoft had been discussing investing as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, according to people familiar with the matter. A representative for Microsoft declined to comment on the final number. OpenAI was in talks this month to sell existing shares in a tender offer that would value the company at around $29 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, making it one of the most valuable U.S. startups on paper despite generating little revenue. The investment shows the tremendous resources Microsoft is devoting toward incorporating artificial-intelligence software into its suite of products, ranging from its design app Microsoft Design to search app Bing.

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After staying somewhat subdued till noon, the Switzerland market gained in strength on Monday as stocks from across several sectors moved higher on strong buying support. The mood was fairly bullish this afternoon with investors shrugging off concerns about interest rates and focusing on earnings updates. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 111.25 points or 0.98% at 11,406.27. Logitech rallied 3.33%. Sika climbed 2.75%, while Lonza Group, Credit Suisse, Richemont, Geberit, Alcon, Partners Group, ABB and Sonova gained 1.5 to 2.3%. Novartis, Nestle and Holcim ended higher by 1.15%, 1.2% and nearly 1%, respectively. Givaudan ended nearly 1% down. Zurich Insurance Group ended 0.6% down, while Swiss Re and Swiss Life Holding edged down marginally. In the Mid Price Index, Bachem Holding, AMS and VAT Group gained 3.8 to 4%. Belimo Holding and Temenos Group, both ended higher by about 2.7%, while Straumann Holding gained about 2.4%. Adecco, Tecan Group, Lindt & Spruengli N, Ems Chemie Holding, Georg Fischer, SIG Combibloc, Schindler Ps, Schindler Holding and Kuehne & Nagel also ended with strong gains.

Despite staying somewhat sluggish for much of the day's trading session, European stocks closed broadly higher on Monday with investors weighing global economic outlook amid easing concerns about interest rates following recent inflation data from several countries. Optimism about economic recovery in China helped as well. Investors awaited a slew of earnings updates from U.S. and European companies this week for directional clues. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.52%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.18%, Germany's DAX ended higher by 0.46% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.52% up, while Switzerland's SMI surged 0.98%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate gains. Denmark and Spain posted marginal gains, Turkiye ended sharply lower, while Iceland closed flat. In the UK market, Ocado Group rallied nearly 4%. Associated British Foods, RS Group, Antofagasta, Scottish Mortgage, F&C Investment Trust, Persimmon, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Smith (DS) gained 1.5 to 2.3%. Fresnillo tumbled nearly 5%. Endeavour Mining and St. Jame's Place ended lower by 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Informa, AstraZeneca, Croda International, Hiscox and Severn Trent drifted down 1 to 1.5%. In Paris, Unibail Rodamco climbed 4.75%. Alstom, StMicro Electronics and Renault gained 2.5 to 3%. Michelin, Pernod Ricard, Capgemini, Schneider Electric, Safran, Saint Gobain, Kering, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Hermes International gained 1 to 2%. In the German market, Sartorius climbed 3.75%. Merck, Vonovia, Infineon Technologies, Continental, Mercedes-Benz, Puma, Siemens Healthineers, BMW, Adidas, Daimler, Siemens, Siemens Energy, Porsche and Covestro ended higher by 1 to 3%.

U.S. stocks rose Monday as investors bet the Federal Reserve will dial back its interest-rate increases and braced for a busy week of corporate earnings reports. In 4 p.m. ET trading, the S&P 500 was up 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8%, or about 250 points. The Nasdaq Composite moved 2% higher. The stock market has rebounded to start 2023 as investors predict moderating inflation will encourage the Fed to ease its interest-rate lifts, and potentially cut rates later this year. The central bank is preparing to slow its rate increases for a second consecutive meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Officials are set to consider a smaller quarter-percentage-point lift at its policy meeting next week, while deliberating what economic signals they would need to see before pausing rate rises this spring. Salesforce rose 3% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Elliott Management had taken a big stake in the software company. Spotify Technology shares advanced 2% after the music-streaming company said it was laying off 6% of its staff. Investors are also awaiting a busy week of earnings reports, with nearly a fifth of S&P 500 companies due to announce quarterly results. Among the bellwethers on deck to report this week are Boeing, Comcast, Chevron, International Business Machines, Microsoft and Tesla. Spotify Technology SA is laying off about 600 employees, or roughly 6%, of its workforce as part of broader cost-cutting measures after the streaming company went on a spending spree during the pandemic. The company’s move is the latest in a wave of technology layoffs, as the industry recalibrates after growing rapidly over the past few years and ahead of a potential recession.

In the wake of the continued rally on Wall Street - especially in stocks from the technology and growth sectors - the Tokyo Stock Exchange again rose sharply on Tuesday. The Nikkei-225 gained 1.6 per cent to 27,332 points. In Sydney, trading ended 0.4 per cent higher - the fifth consecutive gain there. In other places, such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore, business continued to be paused due to the Lunar New Year festival.

U.S. treasury prices fell Monday, pushing the yield on 10-year Treasury notes up to 3.522% from 3.483% Friday. The yield on the interest rate-sensitive two-year note rose to 4.238% from 4.181%. Yields fell for a third-straight week last week on signs of slowing economic growth.

HSBC raises the Deliveroo target to 105 (100) p – Hold

UBS raises the Intesa Sanpaolo target to EUR 2.70 (2.60) – Buy

CS lowers the Ericsson target to SEK 61 (70) – Underperform

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