Novartis has acquired DTx Pharma, a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on leveraging its FALCON platform to develop siRNA therapies for neuroscience indications. Novartis will make an upfront payment of $500 million and additional payments upon completion of pre-specified milestones. Novartis said the acquisition expands its capabilities in RNA-based therapeutics, adding DTx's FALCON platform to the Novartis siRNA toolkit. The deal includes DTx-1252, a potential therapy for the neuromuscular disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A, and two additional preclinical programs for other neuroscience indications.

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The Switzerland stock market opened slightly up on Monday, but soon dropped into negative territory and then spent the rest of the day's session in the red. Worries about economic slowdown amid tighter monetary policies from central banks weighed on the market. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 133.99 points or 1.21% at 10,976.20, near the day's low. Richemont shares plunged 10.4% after its sales figures showed a slowdown in U.S. demand. Richemont chief financial officer Burkhart Grund reportedly told anaylsts that there was no change to the full-year outlook for the group. He is also reported to have said US sales had already started to pick up in June after slumping in May, but they were 'not out of the woods yet,' and sounded a note of caution on the 2024 US elections, which tended to have a damping effect on luxury demand. Givaudan, Sonova, Partners Group, Geberit, Roche Holding and Kuehne & Nagel lost 1 to 2%. Alcon ended nearly 1% down. Holcim, ABB, Lonza Group and Nestle lost 0.4 to 0.8%, while Sika and Logitech both gained about 0.65%. Swiss Re, UBS Group and Swisscom posted modest gains. In the Mid Price Index, Belimo Holding, Straumann Holding and Swatch Group lost 4.2%, 3.1% and 2.5%, respectively.

The major European markets closed lower on Monday, weighed down by growth concerns after data showed the Chinese economy grew at a slower than expected pace in the second quarter. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.63% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed lower by 0.38%, Germany's DAX ended down 0.23% and France's CAC 40 lost 1.12%, while Switzerland's SMI declined 1.21%. Other markets in Europe ended mixed. Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden ended weak. Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Spain ended flat. In the UK market, Coca-Cola HBC ended lower by 4.2%. Flutter Entertainment drifted down 3.4%. Glencore, Anglo American Plc, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Unite Group and Ocado Group lost 2.2 to 2.8%. Entain shed about 1.6% after it agreed to acquire U.S.-based Angstrom Sports for 122 million pounds ($159.5 million). RS Group, Burberry Group, Fresnillo, Airtel Africa, M&G, Halma, Persimmon, Prudential, AstraZeneca and BT Group ended lower by 1 to 2%. Spirax-Sarco Engineering climbed 2.1%. Rentokil Initial, Natwest Group, Compass Group, Pershing Square Holdings and Lloyds Banking Group gained 1 to 1.6%. HSBC Holdings gained about 0.8%. In the German market, Vonovia ended more than 2% down. Infineon declined 1.6%, while Sartorius, Symrise, E.ON, HeidelbergCement and Volkswagen lost 0.8 to 1.25%. Deutsche Bank climbed about 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care gained 1.8% and Munich RE ended 1.2% up. In Paris, Hermes International and LVMH lost 4.2% and 3.7%, respectively. Kering, L'Oreal, Veolia, WorldLine, Pernod Ricard, Unibail Rodamco, Vivendi and Capgemini ended lower by 1 to 2%.

U.S. stocks rose Monday, riding momentum from last week's encouraging reports on inflation and bank earnings. Initially weighed down by data showing the Chinese economy barely grew in the second quarter, U.S. stock indexes gathered strength in early trading and then built on those gains as the day progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, or about 76 points. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9%. Stocks got a boost last week, finishing with gains by all three major indexes, after data showed that the consumer-price index rose less than anticipated in June. That report was followed by similarly hopeful data on supplier prices. On Friday, the country's biggest banks reported better-than-expected earnings, buoyed by resilient consumer borrowing. While smaller and midsize lenders aren't expected to show such strong results, banks of all stripes helped lead indexes higher Monday. Shares of Wells Fargo, which on Friday reported a 57% jump in profit in the second quarter from a year earlier, rose 2.7%, while JPMorgan Chase gained 2.4%. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking index climbed 2%. Telecom stocks fell sharply for a second consecutive session, reaching multiyear lows, amid continued fallout from The Wall Street Journal's investigation into toxic lead cables left behind by the companies. Shares of AT&T sank 6.7% to $13.53, their lowest close since 1993, and Verizon shares fell 7.5% to $31.46, their lowest since 2010. The declines followed demands by environmental groups that the Environmental Protection Agency ensure "immediate removal" of all abandoned aerial lead-covered cables hung up on poles.

On Tuesday, the Asian stock markets shook off favourable Wall Street's cues and tended to be lighter. However, the losses are moderate, with Hong Kong being an exception. The HSI fell sharply by 2.2 per cent. After trading there had to be cancelled the previous day due to a typhoon warning, market observers talk of a need to catch up on the downside. Hong Kong players may be reacting belatedly to the disappointing economic growth in China in the second quarter and to the fact that the Chinese central bank left interest rates unchanged at a routine liquidity injection and did not cut them further in view of the sluggish economy in China.

In the U.S. bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 3.796%, down from 3.818% Friday.

UBS raises BBVA to EUR 9.30 (9.00) – Buy

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