Bayer booked impairments and charges related to its agricultural business, where lower glyphosate prices weighed, leading to a widened second-quarter loss. The German pharmaceutical and agricultural company said impairment losses of 2.30 billion euros ($2.53 billion) dragged earnings, and posted a net loss for the quarter of EUR1.88 billion. In the same quarter the previous year, the net loss had been EUR298 million. Sales were EUR11.04 billion for the period, in line with a forecast the company gave when it revised its guidance on July 24. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization before special items - a key company metric - declined to EUR2.53 billion from EUR3.35 billion the previous year, in line with company expectations. Bayer confirmed the lowered guidance it issued on July 24 due to a significant decline in sales of glyphosate-based products. Bayer's will unveil plans and financial targets for the company in early 2024, the company's new Chief Executive Bill Anderson said during a post-results conference call, adding that a strategic review currently taking place at the company isn't excluding any possible scenarios regarding its structure.

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After a weak start, the Swiss stock market briefly moved into positive territory Tuesday morning, but retreated and spent the rest of the day's session in the red to eventually close modestly lower. Disappointing trade data from China raised concerns about growth in the world's second largest economy, prompting investors to refrain from making significant moves. Also, investors were cautious as they looked ahead to key inflation data from U.S. and China. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 50.15 points or 0.45% at 11,057.32. Richemont shed 2.5%. Geberit, Kuehne & Nagel, Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, Sika, UBS Group and ABB lost 1.2 to 1.6%. Logitech, Holcim and Givaudan ended lower by 0.9 to 1%. Roche Holding advanced 0.6%. Lonza Group, Swisscom and Novartis edged up marginally. Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, AMS ended 3.52% down. Swatch Group declined 2.7% and Meyer Burger Tech ended 2.1% down. Tecan Group, VAT Group, Galenica Sante, Dufry, Julius Baer, Adecco and Helvetia also ended notably lower. Bachem Holding climbed nearly 5%. SGS and Barry Callebaut posted moderate gains.

European stocks closed notably lower on Tuesday, weighed down by growth worries after data showed China's exports and imports both sank at their fastest pace sine the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in July. Investors stayed largely cautious as they awaited key inflation reading from the U.S. and China this week for more clues on the growth and rate outlook. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.23% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.36%, Germany's DAX lost 1.1% and France's CAC 40 closed 0.69% down, while Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 0.45%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Denmark rose sharply. Iceland and Ireland posted modest gains, while Czech Republic, Portugal and Russia ended flat. In the UK market, ABRDN plunged 11.7% after reporting a drop in its assets under management. Glencore shed about 3% after half-year profit dropped 50%. Fresnillo, Melrose Industries, Barclays, IMI, Entain, Johnson Matthey and Anglo American Plc lost 2 to 3.4%. Beazley rallied 5.2%. IHG gained 2.35%. Hiscox, Admiral Group, AstraZeneca, National Grid, Pearson and RightMove gained 1 to 1.7%. In the German market, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Infineon, Zalando, Continental and Adidas declined 2 to 4%. Merck, E.ON, Beiersdorf gained 1 to 1.2%. In Italy, banks were under pressure after the country approved a 40% windfall tax on banks' extra profits to feed items such as a reduction of the tax wedge, tax cuts and financial support to holders of mortgages on first homes.

Weak Chinese export data, a dimmer financial outlook from United Parcel Service and a credit downgrade for 10 smaller U.S. banks sent stock indexes down on Tuesday. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined about 0.5%, or 159 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%. The declines mostly negated Monday's blue-chip-driven gains and resumed the slide stocks have been on since the start of August. Financial shares were stung when Moody's lowered credit ratings for 10 smaller U.S. banks and said it was reviewing ratings for six larger ones, including Bank of New York Mellon and U.S. Bancorp. The move renewed concerns over tighter lending and the banking system's ability to withstand sharply higher interest rates. PNC Financial Services Group and Huntington Bancshares lost 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Bank of America declined 1.9%.Healthcare shares were the top-performing segment of the S&P 500 Tuesday. Eli Lilly jumped 15% to a record and led the broader index higher after the drugmaker beat Wall Street's quarterly earnings expectations and reported booming sales for its buzzy diabetes treatment Mounjaro, which is gaining popularity for weight loss. International Flavors & Fragrances was the S&P 500's biggest loser. The ingredient maker shed 19% after it again slashed its sales forecast for this year, this time by more than 5%. It was the stock's worst day in at least 50 years and dropped shares to their lowest price in more than a decade. Sealed Air, which makes bubble wrap and other packaging materials, also trimmed its 2023 outlook. Its shares fell 9.5% UPS shares declined 0.9% after it said it was trying to win back customers who diverted one million packages a day from UPS during the labor talks. Shares of rival FedEx gained 1.5% Tuesday.

Mostly in narrow ranges, stock markets in East Asia and Australia trend mixed on Wednesday. In Shanghai, the composite index falls 0.4 per cent after consumer and producer prices fell in July, pointing to deflation. The Hong Kong stock market is holding up better, with the Hang Seng Index (HSI) currently down 0.1 per cent.

U.S. Government bond prices climbed, pushing yields down. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dipped below 4% but ended at 4.024%, down from 4.076% Monday.

Citi raises Covestro target to EUR 54 (48) – Buy

Citi lowers Wacker Chemie target to EUR 111 (114) – Sell

Bank of America lowers Siemens Energy target to EUR 21 (24) – Buy

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