The trend at Alcon indicates growth. The US-Swiss group, which is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, performed well in the first quarter of the new financial year. The eye specialist posted significant revenue and net profit growth. In the months January to March, sales of the ex-Novartis subsidiary advanced by 7.3 per cent to 2.33 billion US dollars, as Alcon announced late on Tuesday evening. The group's operating margin came in at 11.5 per cent (PY 11.3%). Meanwhile, the core operating margin was 20.6 per cent (PY 20.6%), according to the company's statement. Bottom line, the company, which consumers know primarily for its contact lenses, posted a net profit of 174 million US dollars (PY 168 million). With the figures achieved, analysts' anticipations were exceeded at all levels.

On Tuesday, the SMI lost 0.4 per cent to 11,546 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 14 price losers and six price winners. 31.08 (previously: 19.2) million shares were traded. One of the biggest decliners was the Sonova share, which dropped 3.8 per cent without news. Regarding Givaudan (-1.3%), disappointing business figures from US competitor International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) weighed. At Alcon (-1.0%), investors retreated ahead of the release of quarterly results on Tuesday after the US market close. However, the 3.2% drop in Holcim shares was due to the CHF 2.50 dividend discount. Lonza (-2.5%) also traded "ex"; the company pays a dividend of 3.50 francs. The SMI received support from heavyweight Nestle (maintained). Swisscom (+0.5%), considered to be defensive, was also sought after. Swiss Re shares (+1.5%) benefited from a price target increase by Deutsche Bank. Only slightly outperforming the market were the shares of banks Credit Suisse (-0.3%) and UBS (-0.1%). Ahead of the expected completion of the Credit Suisse takeover in the coming weeks, UBS announced that the two banks would continue to operate independently for the time being and that the integration would be implemented in stages.

European stocks were in the red on Tuesday as investors assessed data that showed Chinese exports cooled and prepared for reports on U.S. inflation both at the consumer and supplier levels later in the week as well as Thursday's Bank of England meeting. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 465.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gave up 0.6% each. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 was stable at the close. In its first session of the week, the London Stock Exchange was down 0.2% with investors anticipating a further rate hike by the Bank of England. The producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients Euroapi (-0.2%) signed a four-year production agreement worth "several million euros" with Novéal, a subsidiary of the cosmetics group L'Oréal (-0.9%) specialising in the development of environmentally responsible production. Diversified group Bolloré (-0.4%) announced on Monday evening that it had received a promise from French shipowner CMA CGM to buy 100% of its freight forwarding and logistics activities grouped in Bolloré Logistics, based on an enterprise value of 5 billion euros. Irish airline Ryanair (+3.6% in Dublin) announced on Tuesday that it had placed a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, with options for a further 150 aircraft. The value of the order will exceed $40 billion if all options are exercised, Ryanair revealed.

The major U.S. stock indexes slipped Tuesday as investors awaited key inflation data and worries about the U.S. debt ceiling loomed over markets. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.2%, or about 57 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%. Investors have been watching for progress on talks about raising the federal borrowing limit as the U.S. confronts the risk of defaulting on its obligations for the first time. The government could become unable to pay all of its bills on time as soon as June 1 if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has projected. Small and midsize lenders have been under scrutiny since the collapse of several banks in recent months, leading to volatility in regional bank stocks. On Tuesday, PacWest rose 2.3% after falling earlier in the session. Western Alliance fell 1.4%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF eased less than 1%. In earnings-related market action, shares of Lucid and Fisker fell after electric-vehicle makers reported quarterly results. PayPal also fell 13% after the payments giant late Monday cut its outlook for annual adjusted operating margin. A weak outlook dragged the share price of sporting goods supplier Under Armour down by 5.4 per cent. Warner Music fell by 9.6 per cent after reporting its figures. The quarterly figures of flavour manufacturer and Symrise competitor International Flavors & Fragrances (-7%) were also received with disappointment. Oportun Financial soared 28 per cent. An unexpectedly strong quarterly result and an increase in the number of customers boosted the share price.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Wednesday. With the exception of Shanghai (-1.4%), the losses are rather moderate and similar to those on Wall Street the previous day. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell by 0.5 per cent to 29,088 points, in Hong Kong by 0.7 per cent. Mitsubishi Motors is down 9.6 per cent in Tokyo after forecasting a more than 40 per cent drop in net profit for the current fiscal year. Toyota Motor is little changed in the immediate run-up to the financial results. In contrast, retailer Nitori (+4.1%) has guided for a 5 percent net profit increase. Nintendo (-0.6%) are showing little movement after the video game and console manufacturer forecast a 21 percent drop in net profit for the current year. Meanwhile, the company had earned markedly more than analysts' anticipations in the just-ended quarter. Kawasaki Heavy Industries shed 4.6 per cent and Konica Minolta almost 10 per cent after reporting results. Yamaha Corp. declined by half a per cent.

Two- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose for a third straight session on Tuesday as traders looked ahead to U.S. inflation data due Wednesday. Meanwhile, concerns about a lack of progress on the U.S. debt ceiling caused a sharp decline in the price of one-month US Treasury bonds, the yield of which jumped another 5 basis points to 5.515% on Tuesday, after being around 4.5% at the end of last week. The 10-year Treasury yield rose by 1 basis point to 3.528%, while the 2-year yield edged up by 3 basis points to 4.037%.

Target price Ypsomed: Vontobel upgrades to CHF 240 (215) - Buy
Target price Swiss Re: Deutsche Bank increases to CHF 88 (85) - Hold
Target price ABB: Goldman Sachs lifts target price to CHF 47 (41) - Buy

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