Julius Bär reported an increase in Assets Under Management, or AUM, for the first four-month period of 2023. At the end of April, AUM amounted to CHF 429 billion, a year-to-date rise of 1 percent, driven by positive market performance and net new money inflows. However, a negative currency impact, mainly from the strengthening of the CHF against the USD has limited a further improvement in AUM. Net new money went off to a slow start at the beginning of 2023 and continued to be impacted by client deleveraging, albeit to a lower extent than at the start of 2022. Net inflows improved in the latter part of the period, resulting in net new money of CHF 3.5 billion by the end of April, or CHF 5.2 billion, excluding the effect of deleveraging, supported by the clients domiciled in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Israel. Vontobel's analysts pointed out that Julius Bär's share price has soared by 17% since the beginning of the year, reflecting investors' expectations that the bank would be one of the main beneficiaries of the Credit Suisse debacle. On Tuesday, Julius Bär shares slipped 7.4% to CHF 58.18 on the stock exchange, amid a 0.79% decline of the SLI.

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On Tuesday, the SMI lost 0.6 per cent to 11,485 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were eleven price losers and eight price winners, and one share closed unchanged. A total of 24.89 (previously: 26.65) million shares were traded. Among the individual stocks, Julius Baer slid 7.4 per cent. Shares of competitors Credit Suisse (+0.6%) and UBS (+0.2%) were slightly up. Richemont (-3.5%) and Swatch (-3.8%) were weak. The recent disappointing economic data from China weighed on these shares. In addition, Deutsche Bank expects weaker US demand for luxury goods. Insurance stocks led the gainers among European sectors. "Measured against earnings targets, the stocks are not expensive even after the marked gains," commented a market participant. Swiss Re advanced 1.1 per cent and Zurich Insurance added 0.9 per cent.

European stock markets closed in negative territory on Tuesday as private sector growth in the euro zone slowed slightly more than expected in May and uncertainty persists over whether the US debt ceiling will be raised. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.6% to 466.1 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 1.3% and 1.2% respectively, hurt by the luxury goods sector. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.4%, while the FTSE 100 in London weakened 0.1%. Hermès, LVMH and Kering dropped 6.5%, 5% and 3% respectively. Vivendi fell 3.6% while Compagnie de Cornouaille, a simplified joint stock company linked to the Bolloré group (-0.7%), sold a significant number of shares in the media and entertainment group, according to announcements published by the French Financial Markets Authority. Bank Société Générale (+3.9%) confirmed the completion of the takeover by its long-term car rental subsidiary ALD (+1.4%) of its Dutch rival LeasePlan. Renewable energy producer Neoen (+0.3%) and its partner Prokon unveiled on Monday the construction of two wind farms in Finland with a combined capacity of 161.2 megawatts (MW). Casino's shares were suspended on Tuesday morning at the request of the company, pending the publication of a press release and until further notice, the stock exchange operator Euronext stated. The creditors of Casino, whose net debt in France amounted to more than 4.5 billion euros at the end of December 2022, are due to give their verdict this Tuesday concerning the refinancing offer proposed on 24 April by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Stocks wobbled for much of Tuesday before sliding deeper into the red, as Wall Street followed last-minute talks to stave off a U.S. default that some investors fear would upend financial markets. Losses across major indexes accelerated throughout the afternoon as the White House and congressional Republicans offered few hints of additional progress. The S&P 500 slipped by 1.1%, with losses spanning every sector except energy, while the Nasdaq Composite slid by 1.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7%, or 231 points. Trading has been relatively calm in recent days as the clock ticks toward the “X-Date”—as soon as June 1—when the government has warned it won’t have enough cash to pay its bills. Major technology stocks traded mostly lower, dragging down the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Microsoft slid 1.8%, while Google owner Alphabet slipped 2%. Facebook parent Meta Platforms dropped 0.6% and chipmaking giant Nvidia lost 1.6%. Broadcom gained 1.2%, pushing its share price to a record, after Apple said it would extend its supply agreement with the chip maker in a multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal for wireless-connectivity and 5G radio-frequency and components. Apple shares ticked 1.5% lower. As investors retreated from stocks on Tuesday, pandemic-era winner Zoom Video Communications was one of Nasdaq’s major losers. The teleconferencing software-maker fell 8.1%, even after posting better-than-expected earnings Monday, after releasing a dimming outlook for its enterprise segment.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.8% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down 0.9%. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5% while the Kospi in Seoul shed 0.1%.

Traders priced in an environment of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. Meanwhile, worries about a resolution of the debt-ceiling debate in Congress were on full display in the Treasury-bill sector, where yields on debt maturing between June 6-15 headed toward 6%. The 10-year Treasury yield in contrast fell 2 basis points to 3.698%. The 2-year Treasury yield gained less than 1 basis point to 4.325%.

Rating Interroll: UBS downgrades to Sell (Neutral) - Target 2590 (2450) CHF

Target price Temenos: Jefferies upgrades to 70 (66) CHF - Hold

Target price DocMorris: Morgan Stanley lifts target to CHF 37 (31) - Equal Weight

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