Tesla Inc. reported a 24% decline in first-quarter profit after a wave of price cuts dented the electric-vehicle maker’s bottom line. Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker has lowered prices for models in the U.S. by between 14% and 25% this year as it contends with weaker demand, higher interest rates and burgeoning competition. The latest round of reductions came on the eve of earnings. Tesla on Wednesday reported first-quarter profit of $2.5 billion, down from $3.3 billion a year earlier and a hair below Wall Street’s expectations. Revenue rose 24% from the year before to $23.3 billion, as Tesla delivered more cars to customers. Tesla’s price reductions jolted sales, at least initially. “We currently are seeing orders at almost twice the rate of production,” Mr. Musk, the company’s chief executive, said in January after the company implemented a round of steep price cuts. But Tesla’s operating margin, a measure of profitability, took a hit, falling to 11.4% from 19.2% in the first three months of 2022.

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The Switzerland stock market ended slightly up on Wednesday after staying weak till less than an hour before the closing bell. Concerns about rate hikes and economic slowdown weighed on the market. The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 7.24 points or 0.06% at 11,366.22 after moving between 11,330.77 and 11,377.85. Zurich Insurance Group surged 1.86%. Swiss Life Holding gained about 1%, while Swiss Re, Novartis and Richemont gained 0.5 to 0.7%. Logitech declined 2.4%. Credit Suisse ended 1.3% down, UBS Group drifted down 1.12% and Lonza Group lost 1.06%. Alcon, ABB, Sonova and Roche Holding 0.4 to 1%. Among Mid Price Index stocks, Julius Baer climbed 2.76%. Helvetia, Baloise Holding, Dufry, Barry Callebaut and Flughafen Zurich gained 1.4 to 2%. Lindt & Spruengli and Swatch Group also ended notably higher. Zur Rose ended more than 5% down. Belimo Holding, VAT Group, AMS and Straumann Holding lost 2.5 to 2.9%. Tecan Group, Georg Fischer, Schindler Ps, Adecco, SIG Combibloc and Ems Chemie Holding drifted down 0.8 to 2%.

European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday as investors digested the latest batch of economic data from the region, earnings updates from a few top U.S. companies, and weighed interest rate prospects after somewhat mixed comments from Federal Reserve officials. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.1%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.13%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.08% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.21% to a new high, while Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.06%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Sweden climbed higher. Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye ended weak, while Czech Republic and Poland closed flat. In the UK market, British American Tobacco gained about 3.4%. Smith & Nephew, Flutter Entertainment, Hiscox, Admiral Group, Coca-Cola HBC, Imperial Brands, Aviva and Mondi gained 1 to 2.2%. Ocado Group and Halma both shed about 2.2%. JD Sports Fashion, Kingfisher, BT Group, BP, Scottish Mortgage, Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc, Land Securities, Antofagasta, Vodafone Group and Melrose Industries lost 1 to 2%. In the German market, Commerzbank rallied 4.5%. Brenntag, Hannover Rueck, Allianz and RWE gained 1.2 to 1.7%. Infineon Technologies lost about 2.5%. Daimler Truck Holding, MTU Aero Engines, Qiagen, Volkswagen and SAP ended lower by 0.6 to 1.2%. In Paris, AXA, Essilor, Credit Agricole, Vinci, Bouygues, Engie, Societe Generale, LVMH and WorldLine gained 0.8 to 1.6%. ArcelorMittal, Vivendi, Teleperformance, Capgemini, Dassault Sytemes and TotalEnergies lost 1 to 1.7%. UK consumer prices increased more than expected in March, logging an annual increase of 10.1%, remaining stubbornly high on rising food prices, and strengthening the call for a quarter point interest rate hike at the next Bank of England policy meeting in May.

Stocks were muted Wednesday as another heavy day of corporate earnings got under way, with companies broadly posting results that have beaten analysts' expectations. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day flat while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.2%, or 79.62 points. Investors are watching earnings to determine company health following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve and elevated inflation. Companies including Abbott Labs, Baker Hughes, Morgan Stanley, Citizens Financial, Nasdaq and Travelers reported results early Wednesday, alongside regional banks such as Citizens Financial and U.S. Bancorp. IBM and Tesla were slated to release results after markets close. Of the 9% of S&P 500 companies that have thus far reported earnings through Wednesday morning, 84% reported better-than-expected earnings per share, according to FactSet. Western Alliance Bancorp led a rally in regional bank stocks after the lender said it added $2 billion in deposits from March 31 to April 14. Its shares jumped 24%, up by $7.84, while Metropolitan Bank shares added 18%, or $5.48, after the company reported higher quarterly revenue and profit. International Business Machines Corp. shares ticked higher in the extended session Wednesday after Big Blue topped earnings estimates and reiterated its free-cash-flow forecast for the year on “neutral” revenue growth. IBM IBM shares rose 2% after hours, following a 1.1% decline in the regular session to close at $126.32.

The stock markets in East Asia and Australia are mostly treading water on Thursday. The region's markets receive no support from the decision of the Chinese central bank (PBoC) to leave its key interest rate unchanged. The decision was so expected after the PBoC on Monday provided liquidity to the banking system at an unchanged rate through its one-year medium-term lending facility. The interest rate on this credit facility is usually the benchmark used to set the country's policy rate. In Shanghai, the composite index falls 0.7 per cent. On the Hong Kong stock market, the Hang Seng Index is trading 0.2 per cent higher.

In U.S. bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up to 3.601%, from 3.571% Tuesday. Yields rise when prices fall.

UBS raises the Santander target to EUR 4.95 (4.85) – Buy

BoA raises the Stellantis target to EUR 19 (17)/Neutral – Trader

BoA raises the BMW target to EUR 88 (78)/Underperf. – Trader

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