Sergio Ermotti has been appointed chief executive of UBS, replacing Ralph Hamers, as a result of the takeover of Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank announced on Wednesday. Sergio Ermotti, who has already been chief executive of UBS for nine years until 2020, will take up his new role on 5 April, the bank revealed. Ralph Hamers has agreed to step down in the interests of the merger with Credit Suisse, UBS added. The executive "will remain at UBS and work alongside Sergio Ermotti as an advisor during a transition period to ensure the success of the transaction" with Credit Suisse, the bank noted. Meanwhile, reinsurer Swiss Re has confirmed that Sergio Ermotti will step down as chairman of its board of directors at the end of its next general meeting, scheduled for 12 April.

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Tuesday, the SMI gained 0.5 per cent to 10,839 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price gainers and 5 price losers. 49.38 (previously: 53.24) million shares were traded. UBS was the day's winner with a gain of 1.7 per cent. The Credit Suisse share rose 0.7 per cent. Some insurance stocks were also in demand. Swiss Life advanced 1.1 per cent and Zurich Insurance added 0.9 per cent. Among the index heavyweights, Nestle gained 0.7 per cent. Novartis climbed another 1.5 per cent after a sharp jump of more than 7 per cent the previous day. The pharmaceutical giant announced early trial success for its breast cancer drug Kisqali on Monday. The shares of competitor Roche, on the other hand, closed little changed. Holcim (+1.2%) and ABB (+1.1%) were also sought after by investors. Partners Group (-1.8%) and Givaudan (-0.9%) underperformed. Within the broader market, Peach Property lost 9.8 per cent. Among the familiar concerns in the real estate sector were financing costs in the face of rising interest rates, market participants said in light of conspicuous price losses in some European sector stocks.

Despite opening on a firm note and holding in positive territory till noon, the major European markets ended roughly flat on Tuesday, as stocks pared gains and struggled to move higher again as investors awaited further updates on the banking sector front. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 444.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 0.1 percent each. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt also advanced 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in London added 0.2%. The National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) conducted major searches on Tuesday concerning five financial institutions in Paris and La Défense, motivated by suspicions of aggravated tax fraud. These are BNP Paribas (+0.4%), its subsidiary Exane, Société Générale (-1.1%), Natixis and HSBC (stable in London), according to information from the daily Le Monde, which was confirmed by L'Agefi. In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank fell by 1.6%, while Commerzbank rose by 1.6%. Roughly twenty institutional shareholders of Engie (+0.6%) are asking the energy company to specify its climate commitments and to institute an annual vote on its progress in this area. JPMorgan lowered its recommendation on the stock of private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners (-1.1%) from "overweight" to "neutral" and cut its target price from €25.10 to €19.30, in the wake of the group's annual results. Hotel group Accor (-0.7%) will propose at its general meeting on 17 May the reappointment of Sébastien Bazin as director. Pharmaceutical supplier Sartorius Stedim Biotech (-2.1%) announced the appointment of René Faber as CEO, effective Tuesday. British spirits producer Diageo (-0.9% in London) revealed on Tuesday that its chief executive, Ivan Menezes, would be retiring after ten years and would be replaced by current chief operating officer, Debra Crew.

Technology stocks slid Tuesday, dinged by rising bond yields, as an ebbing of the recent turmoil in the banking sector shifted investors’ attention back to the threat of further interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. Many investors speculated earlier this month that the high-profile failures of SVB Financial and Signature Bank would test the Fed’s resolve in its efforts to fight inflation. Now, easing anxiety about global banks is leading them to renew bets that interest rates could rise further and stay elevated. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 52.76 points, or 0.4%, to 11716.08. The broad S&P 500 index declined 6.26 points, or 0.2%, to 3971.27, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 37.83 points, or 0.1%, to 32394.25. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices, which makes computer chips, fell $2.05, or 2.1%, to $94.56; Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, declined $2.16, or 1.1%, to $200.68; and Apple fell 63 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $157.65. Charles Schwab fell $1.01, or 1.8%, to $53.85, but Zions Bancorp, a focus of investor scrutiny this month, climbed 62 cents, or 2.1%, to $29.95. The stock is still down by 39% this year. Some stock and bond investors have scooped banks’ shares and their debt over the past week, seeing discounts following this month’s selloff. Elsewhere in the stock market, spice-maker McCormick rose $7.12, or 9.6%, to $81.18 after the company posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter sales and earnings.

While little is happening on most stock exchanges in East Asia during trading on Wednesday, a bull market in Alibaba shares is creating momentum in Hong Kong. The HSI gained 1.9 per cent. In Tokyo, the index rose by 0.6 per cent to 27,681 points. In Seoul and Shanghai, however, the indices barely move. In the wake of Alibaba, other tech heavyweights are also in demand. Meituan climbed by 4.6 per cent and Tencent by 2.1 per cent. In Tokyo, Softbank (+5.5 per cent) was buoyed by the Alibaba uptrend. In Shanghai, BYD is up 3.2 per cent. The conglomerate and electric car maker presented solid financial figures for 2022.

U.S. bond yields rose for a second day on Tuesday, signaling less demand for safe-haven assets, as economic data pointed to continued resilience in the economy, despite the Federal Reserve’s course of sharply higher interest rates. The 10-year Treasury note rose 2 basis points to 3.553%. The 2-year Treasury note which is more dependent on Fed rates added 10 basis points to 4.055%.

Berenberg raises Inficon target to 1,222 (1,166) CHF - Buy

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