Technology group ABB (-1.6%) has completed the sale of its Power Conversion division to Taiwan's AcBel Polytech. The sale will result in a non-operating accounting profit for the third quarter of 2023, ABB disclosed on Monday. With the completion of the sale announced in January, ABB has now completed all divestments of businesses that were planned for at the end of 2020, the company added. According to the statement, the Power Conversion division, based in the US state of Texas, generated sales of around 440 million US dollars and an operating profit of 50 million last year. The company employs about 1500 people worldwide. In January, ABB had put the sale price of the division at 505 million US dollars in cash. ABB is expanding its long-standing technology cooperation with US IT group Microsoft. Together, the two companies aim to integrate generative AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities into digital industrial solutions, ABB disclosed on Monday.

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The Swiss stock market edged slightly lower on Monday amid a lack of impetus. Swiss consumer prices for June provided no momentum for equities. The annual rate of 1.7 per cent deviated only minimally from the forecast of 1.8 per cent. The SMI lost 0.5 per cent to 11,219 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 13 price losers and 6 price gainers, with only Holcim closing unchanged. 16.46 (Friday: 24.48) million shares were traded. UBS led the SMI with a plus of 1.0 per cent. The fact that the bank will probably not need taxpayers' money for the takeover of Credit Suisse created good vibes. The Swiss government had granted UBS CHF 9 billion to cover possible losses from the takeover. In the second row, Swatch (+2.5% to 267.50 francs) benefited from the fact that Bank of America has put the stock on its favourites list and envisages a price target of 400 francs. At the bottom of the list without news were Partners Group (-3.0%), Sonova (-2.6%) and Alcon (-2.1%). Richemont slipped 1.0 percent to 150.15 francs. UBS lowered its price target from 189 to 182 francs, as for other stocks of the European luxury segment, given the rather tepid Chinese economy.

The European stock markets began the third quarter slightly down, as manufacturing activity showed signs of weakness on both sides of the Atlantic. The Stoxx Europe 600 index decreased by 0.2% on Monday, at 461 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 were each down 0.2%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt lost 0.4%, while the FTSE 100 in London shed 0.1%. The oil and gas services group CGG (+5.6%) revealed on Monday that its subsidiary Sercel had been awarded several equipment contracts by the Chinese geophysical services group BGP for deployment in the Middle East. Retail group Casino (-3.3%) admitted on Monday that it would not honour one of its financial commitments concerning a revolving credit facility (RCF) and warned of a risk of default. Electronic tag maker SES-imagotag (-2%) announced on Monday that it had signed a contract with one of the largest US convenience store chains to deploy its Vusion IoT cloud platform and smart labels in more than 800 points of sale. Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (-8% in London) reported positive results for its lung cancer drug 'datopotamab deruxtecan' in a phase 3 trial. However, UBS is concerned that the results may not be as positive as announced. Barclays (+1.5% in London) is seeking to end its relationship as funding bank to Odey Asset Management, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

U.S. stocks edged higher in a shortened trading session Monday, as investors geared up for the second half of 2023 following a market rally to start the year. The S&P 500 added 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained roughly 10 points, or less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%. U.S. markets closed early Monday for the Independence Day holiday and will remain closed Tuesday. Electric-vehicle stocks jumped Monday after Tesla posted record quarterly sales. Shares of Tesla rose 6.9%, their best one-day gain since March. Rivian Automotive climbed 17% after it reported EV deliveries that topped expectations, its largest percentage increase since November 2022. Lucid Group gained 7.3%. In economic data, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index slipped to 46 in June, contracting for an eighth consecutive month. On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting will be released, offering insights into central-bank officials’ approach to interest rates. That will be followed Friday with the June jobs report, which economists expect to show continued resilience in the labor market. The major US banks rose after announcing an increase in their dividends following their success during the stress tests carried out by the Federal Reserve (Fed). JPMorgan (+0.8%) forecast an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1 to $1.05 per share in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley (+1.e%) also increased its payout to shareholders to 85 cents per share from 77.5 cents per share. Wells Fargo (+1.7%) and Citigroup (+1.5%) hiked their dividends to 35 cents per share from 30 cents, and 53 cents per share from 51 cents. US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (+6.9%) revealed on Sunday that it had delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, exceeding market expectations thanks to significant price cuts and discounts. Apple (-0.8%), the maker of the iPhone, is reported to have reduced its production targets for its Vision Pro headset, due to manufacturers' difficulties in mastering the complex design, according to the Financial Times.

On the stock exchanges in East Asia, minor profit-taking occurred in many places on Tuesday, for which observers blame renewed economic concerns. Contrary to the regional trend, the Chinese stock exchanges are slightly up. In Shanghai, the Composite Index gained 0.1 per cent, in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.5 per cent. The focus lies on the trade dispute with the USA and export restrictions imposed by Beijing on Monday for certain minerals used for the production of chips. Shares in Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium and Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industrial jumped 10 per cent right at the start of trading. In contrast, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo fell by 0.9 per cent. Shares of mechanical engineering companies and retailers are sold. The price of the pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo plummeted by around 15 per cent.

The policy-sensitive 2-year U.S. Treasury yield gained 3 basis points to 4.929% during shortened, pre-holiday trading on Monday, after U.S. economic data came in somewhat mixed. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 3.857%.

Target price Clariant: Goldman Sachs cuts to CHF 15.50 (16.50) - Buy

Target price Polypeptide: Credit Suisse downgrades to CHF 18 (21) - Neutral

Target price Richemont: UBS lowers to CHF 182 (189) - Buy

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