Elon Musk has launched his new artificial-intelligence business, xAI, as the tech industry races to develop new AI initiatives. “Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk said on Twitter, the social-media platform he owns. Musk had incorporated the AI company in Nevada in March. Musk has been recruiting researchers to try to create a rival to OpenAI, the AI company that launched the viral chatbot ChatGPT in November, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Musk has complained ChatGPT is politically correct and warned it could lead AI to become too powerful for humans to control. Musk co-founded OpenAI but left after a power struggle.

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The Swiss stock market did not really get off the ground on Wednesday either, even though the SMI climbed back above the 11,000 point mark. The SMI rose by 0.5 per cent to 11,019 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 16 price gainers and four price losers. 15.84 (previously: 14.79) million shares were traded. The market was held back by declines in Novartis (-0.6%) and Nestle (-0.4%). At Swatch (+1.5%) and Richemont (+2.5%), investors were betting on positive business figures that are due soon. Across Europe, technology stocks (+2.7%) were among the favourites after Jefferies analysts were positive on the sector. AMS-Osram, Temenos and VAT rose by up to 6.6 per cent. Schindler also rose - by 2.2 per cent - after a large order from Saudi Arabia. Swiss Re gained 1.5 per cent. The reinsurer had found a successor for the resigned Chairman of the Board of Directors Sergio Ermotti. Vice Chairman Jacques de Vaucleroy was proposed for election at the next general meeting in April 2024.International markets

European stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The pan European STOXX 600 Index jumped by 1.5 percent to 458.54, closing higher for the fourth straight day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.8 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index surged by 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. The continued strength in the markets partly reflected a positive reaction to tamer-than-expected U.S. inflation data, which helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates. U.K. stocks outperformed after the Bank of England said its annual stress test of eight major lenders showed that each could cope with rising interest rates in a stressed environment, and none would need to raise additional capital. British banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest Group and Standard Chartered all moved sharply higher following the release of the Bank of England's financial stability report. Recruiter Pagegroup also showed a significant move to the upside despite reporting a lower second-quarter gross profit. Supermarket chain Tesco also jumped 2.0 percent after it announced continuation of an existing 750 million pounds share buyback program. On the other hand, Tullow Oil slumped by 2.1 percent. The Irish oil and gas company has reaffirmed its crude oil production outlook for full year 2023.

Stock indexes advanced Wednesday after inflation data for June came in cooler than Wall Street expected. Bond yields fell. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to close at the highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 1.2% higher. The latest CPI data showed that consumer prices rose 3% in June from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than two years. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2% from May. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase. Inflation data is a key factor in the Federal Reserve's decision making this month and beyond. Traders in interest-rate derivatives are currently betting that a July rate increase may be the Fed's last. Large technology firms extended recent gains, with Nvidia up 3.5% and Meta Platforms 3.7% higher. Recursion Pharmaceuticals jumped 78% after the biotech firm said that Nvidia is investing $50 million to boost its drug-discovery companies. Domino's Pizza jumped 11% after signing a deal with Uber Technologies to list its menus on Uber's food-delivery apps, reversing a long-held stance against working with food-delivery companies. Domino's, the world's largest pizza company, was the S&P 500's best performer. Regional bank stocks also outperformed. Comerica, Zions Bancorp and KeyCorp were among the S&P 500's best performers. Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said Chief Executive Robert Iger has agreed to stay on in his position through 2026, extending his second term as the company contends with challenges from its pivot to streaming, a box office slump and ongoing cost cuts.

Hopes of an imminent end to interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve are creating a buying mood on the East Asian and Australian stock exchanges on Thursday. The Nikkei index in Tokyo recorded a significant plus of 1.7 per cent to 32,473 points. According to traders, the winners were led by technology stocks.

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond dropping to 3.860% from 3.980% Tuesday. Yields have pulled back since strong economic data last week pushed them above 4% for the first time since March.

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