Microsoft can close its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a federal judge ruled, delivering a major setback to the Biden administration's attempt to rein in big mergers. The deal would combine Microsoft's Xbox videogaming business with the publisher of popular franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. The ruling means there is no current U.S. obstacle to the two companies merging; the companies are still seeking U.K. approval. The Federal Trade Commission had sought an injunction to prevent the two companies from completing their megadeal before the agency began a separate process to challenge it in August. The FTC can appeal the ruling, although that is uncommon for the agency. It also can continue with its challenge to block the deal. In its suit, the FTC alleges that the deal would give Microsoft the ability to control how consumers beyond users of its own Xbox consoles and subscription services access Activision's games. Microsoft has argued the deal is good for gamers and for competition.

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The Swiss stock market shrugged off a mild morning setback and ended on a positive note on Tuesday, amid easing concerns about interest rates, and on news about extended financial support to China's property sector. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 40.58 points or 0.37% at 10,962.59. The index touched a low of 10,904.11 and a high of 10,975.59 intraday. Sika climbed 3.33% and Richemont rallied 2.4%. Geberit gained 1.86%, while Holcim, Givaudan, Kuehne & Nagel, Partners Group, Sonova and Swiss Life Holding gained 1 to 1.6%. Nestle, Swisscom, Novartis and Roche Holding ended weak. In the Mid Price Index, Adecco gained about 2.5%. Swatch Group, Dufry, Ems Chemie Holding, Straumann Holding, Swiss Prime Site and AMS climbed 1.3 to 2%. Belimo Holding, Helvetia, Lindt & Spruengli, PSP Swiss Property, Clariant, Barry Callebaut and Julius Baer ended higher by 0.9 to 1.2%. VAT Group ended 4.2% down. Meyer Burger Tech, DocMorris and Bachem Holding ended lower by 1.86%, 1.51% and 1.4%, respectively.

European stocks closed on a firm note on Tuesday, led by gains in the mining sector. Among the major markets in the region, the U.K. underperformed and just managed to spend a brief while at the start, and a few minutes towards the end of the session. Stocks climbed higher amid expectations of an imminent end to U.S. rate hikes, and on news about extended financial support to China's property sector. The People's Bank of China announced that it would extend financial support for the beleaguered property sector until end-2024. The pan European Stoxx 600 moved up 0.72%. Germany's DAX climbed 0.755 and France's CAC 40 surged 1.07%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.12%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.37%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Denmark and Iceland ended weak, while Netherlands closed flat. In the market, British Land Company surged nearly 4%. Land Securities, JD Sports Fashion, ITV, Associated British Foods, Flutter Entertainment, Next, Barratt Developments, Segro, Croda International, Legal & General, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc and Persimmon gained 1.5 to 3%. BP, CRH, Smurfit Kappa Group, Antofagasta, WPP, Ferguson and Aviva also ended notably higher. Carnival tumbled 3.7%. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Rentokil Initial, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Melrose Industries ended lower by 1.4 to 2%. In the German market, Puma, Vonovia and Commerzbank, Zalando climbed 3.5 to 4%.

Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, adding to the modest gains posted in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside, further offsetting the pullback seen last week. The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close. The Dow jumped 317.02 points or 0.9 percent to 34,261.42, the Nasdaq rose 75.22 points or 0.6 percent to 13,760.70 and the S&P 500 climbed 29.73 points or 0.7 percent to 4,439.26. The strength on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation on Wednesday. Energy stocks saw substantial strength on the day, benefiting from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil. With crude for August delivery surging $1.84 to $74.83 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 3.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumped by 2.2 percent. Significant strength was also visible among financial stocks, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index both climbing by 1.7 percent. Disney is exploring strategic options for its Star India business, including a joint venture or a sale, a sign of strain at one of the premier properties it acquired from Fox. The company has talked to at least one bank about ways to help the India business grow, while sharing some of the costs, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are in the early stages and it is unclear which options, if any, Disney might pursue.

Within mostly narrow limits, the East Asian and Australian stock markets present themselves inconsistent in the course of trading on Wednesday. While the Hong Kong stock exchange recorded a significant plus of 1.2 per cent, Shanghai was slightly in the red.

In the U.S. bond market, treasuries extended the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2.6 basis points to 3.980 percent.

Deutsche Bank lowers Julius Baer target to CHF 69 (72) – Buy

BoA raises ING target to EUR 17.50 (17) – Buy

Citi lowers Orange target to EUR 11.20 (12.15) – Neutral

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