Lyft Inc.'s shares sank by more than a third on Friday after the ride-hailing company posted an unexpected quarterly loss and concerns mounted that it was falling further behind Uber Technologies Inc. More than a dozen Wall Street analysts cut their price target for the stock, while six downgraded the stock's rating, after Lyft reported underwhelming revenue guidance and an adjusted quarterly loss of 74 cents a share. Wall Street analysts expected a profit of 13 cents when adjusted for certain items, according to FactSet. Shares of Lyft are down more than 75% over the past 12 months. Uber shares have fallen less than 10% over the same period. Lyft's earnings came a day after Uber reported its strongest quarter ever as revenue soared 49% and users spent more for rides and Uber Eats, a food-delivery option for which Lyft has no equivalent. Uber said it has also been attracting more drivers by giving them the opportunity to earn extra income by placing ads on their vehicles.

On Friday, the SMI lost 0.8 per cent to 11,130 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 17 price losers and three price winners. 67.29 (previously: 137.9) million shares were traded. Among the financial stocks, Credit Suisse recovered by 3.5 per cent after plummeting by 14 per cent the previous day following the publication of financial results. UBS, on the other hand, lost 0.7 per cent, Swiss Re also fell by 1 per cent. Among the index heavyweights, Nestle (+0.4 per cent) stood out posting gains. The value was boosted by good business figures from L'Oreal, in which Nestle holds a stake. Meanwhile, Novartis (-0.4%) and Roche (-1.6) declined. Luxury goods stocks performed slightly worse. Swatch lost 1.5 per cent and Richemont 1.8 per cent. Technology stocks edged lower in line with the weak Nasdaq. Logitech dropped 2.2 per cent and AMS-Osram 1.6 per cent.

The European stock markets lost ground on Friday, caught up in concerns about interest rate hikes by major central banks and slowing global economic growth. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1% to 457.9 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 were down 0.8% and 0.9% respectively. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt lost 1.4% and the FTSE 100 in London declined by 0.4%. For the week as a whole, the Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.6%. The world's leading cosmetics company L'Oréal (-0.8%) reported a turnover slightly above analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter, despite the Covid-19-related disruptions in China which continued to dampen sales in its luxury division. Steel producer Aperam (-7.4%) announced a "nil" net result for the fourth quarter, weighed down by nickel-related losses and significant destocking. The share price of Orpea (+50%), which manages old people's homes, has rebounded for the second time in a row. The share price has proven to be extremely volatile since the announcement on 1 February of an agreement regarding its restructuring plan, which is massively dilutive for current shareholders. The Orpea share edged more than 40% lower since the beginning of the year and about 90% over one year. The stock exchange operator Euronext (+1.4%) published results broadly in line with analysts' expectations for 2022 and raised its target for synergies from the integration of Borsa Italiana. German sports equipment maker Adidas (-10.9% in Frankfurt) announced on Thursday evening a much worse than expected outlook for 2023. Standard Chartered shares lost 5% in London after First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) dispelled speculation that the UAE bank might make a bid for the British bank.

U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses Friday, capping a week in which this year’s investor optimism about the direction of the economy faced its first test. The S&P 500 rose 8.96 points, or 0.2%, to 4090.46. But the index still turned in a 1.1% weekly decline, its worst weekly performance so far in 2023. Markets seemed to be digesting the previous week’s news, which included the Federal Reserve’s 0.25-point increase and a surprisingly strong jobs report. With the fourth-quarter earnings season more than halfway through, fewer companies are topping Wall Street profit expectations than normal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 169.39 points, or 0.5%, to 33869.27. The Nasdaq Composite fell 71.46 points, or 0.6%, to 11718.12. All three indexes finished the week lower, the first time that has happened since December. The Nasdaq snapped a five-week winning streak with its 2.4% weekly decline. Derivatives markets reflected a shift in expectations. Investors who had wagered on the Fed cutting rates this year scaled back those bets. Spotify Technology shares rose 3.6% after the streaming music company confirmed that investment fund ValueAct had acquired a stake in the company. Paypal is up 3%. The payments company reported a better-than-expected profit in the last quarter and announced the departure at the end of the year of its chief executive, Dan Schulman, who joined the company in 2014 after its spin-off from eBay. Tour operator Expedia (-8.5%) reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results due to "adverse weather conditions" in the period but stressed that travel demand was "strong and accelerating". Cloudflare (+3.3%) jumps as the cybersecurity company expects revenues to beat analysts' expectations for the current quarter, after exceeding consensus in the last quarter. Yelp (+3.3%) forecast $1.3bn in revenue this year as it "executes on its strategic initiatives", in line with analysts' expectations. Media group News Corp (-9.4%), parent company of the Wall Street Journal, announced on Thursday a 5% reduction in its workforce, or nearly 1,250 jobs, due to "economic difficulties", while its profit and turnover for the last quarter were down and lower than expected.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong losing 0.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.5% against the trend while the South Korean Kospi shed 0.7%, with semiconductor, internet and battery stocks being the main drags.

Long-dated U.S. government debt yields posted their biggest weekly gains in more than a month on Friday after data showed U.S. consumer sentiment improving and Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker said he sees growing odds of a soft landing for the economy. The 10-year Treasury note rose 6 basis points to 3.745%. The 2-year Treasury note added 1 basis point to 4.525%. In Switzerland, the yield of two-year Confederation bonds was last reported at 1.049% and those of ten-year bonds at 1.346%.

Berenberg lowers Swisscom to Sell (Hold) - Target CHF 500 (380)
UBS raises ABN Amro to Buy (Neutral) - Target EUR 20 (15)
Berenberg cuts Zurich target to CHF 510.70 (522.10) - Buy

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