Alcon, the global leader in eye care, reported its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. For the second quarter of 2023, sales were $2.4 billion, an increase of 9% on a reported basis and 12% on a constant currency basis, as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alcon reported diluted earnings per share of $0.34 and core diluted earnings per share of $0.69 in the second quarter of 2023. David J. Endicott, Alcon's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our robust second quarter results reflect the durability of our markets, the commercial excellence of our team and our unwavering focus on innovation." Mr. Endicott continued, "By successfully executing our strategy around the world and across both franchises, we are further strengthening our leadership position in eye care, making us more resilient in a complex global economy and better positioned to seize new opportunities to advance patient care and deliver shareholder value."

The Swiss stock market ended notably lower on Tuesday, in line with markets across Europe, as rising concerns about the health of the Chinese economy, and interest rate hikes weighed on sentiment. The benchmark SMI, which remained in negative territory right through the day's session, ended with a loss of 124.89 points or 1.12% at 10,985.22. The index dropped to a low of 10,956.38 about an hour past noon. Among SMI components, only Logitech and Holcim closed higher, gaining 0.4% and 0.13%, respectively. Richemont ended 2.4% down. Givaudan dropped about 2.1%, while Sika, Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, Alcon, Nestle, ABB, Lonza Group and Geberit lost 1.25 to 1.7%. Roche Holding, Zurich Insurance Group, Swiss Re and Novartis lost 0.8 to 1%. In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech fell 5.6%. Ems Chemie Holding declined nearly 4% and Straumann Holding ended 3.3% down. AMS, Swatch Group, VAT Group, Temenos Group, Adecco, Georg Fischer, IG Combibloc and Schindler Ps lost 1.6 to 2.9%. Tecan Group soared nearly 8%. Galenica Sante climbed 4.7%, while DocMorris and Bachem Holding gained 0.98% and 0.85%, respectively.

European stocks closed notably lower on Tuesday amid rising concerns over the health of the world's second largest economy, and uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. Higher bond yields hurt as well. China's consumption and investment cooled further in July, and factory production growth also decelerated. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.93% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.57%, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.86% and France's CAC 40 fell 1.1%, while Switzerland's SMI closed lower by 1.12%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Iceland ended higher, while Czech Republic, Denmark and Ireland settled flat. In the UK market, Phoenix Group Holdings, HSBC Holdings, Glencore, Antofagasta, M&G and Legal & General Group ended lower by 3 to 3.6%. ABRDN, Experian, Schrodders, Endeavour Mining, Anglo American Plc, Prudential, AstraZeneca, Persimmon, British American Tobacco and Croda International Group lost 2 to 2.6%. In the German market, E.ON, Siemens Energy, Vonvoia, Bayer, Infineon, BASF, MTU Aero Engines, Allianz, Siemens Healthineers, Zalando, Merck, Symrise, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen ended lower by 1 to 2%.

After a gap down opening and a subsequent fall to lower levels, U.S. stocks languished in the red right through the day's session and eventually ended on a weak note on Tuesday. The Dow ended with a loss of 361.24 points or 1.02 percent at 34,946.39. The S&P 500 ended down 51.86 points or 1.16 percent at 4,437.86, and the Nasdaq settled at 13,631.05, recording a loss of 157.28 points or 1.14 percent. Data from the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. increased 0.7 percent month-over-month in July, rising for the fourth consecutive month. Retail sales rose 0.3 percent in June. The bigger than expected increase in retail sales has raised the possibility of the Federal Reserve deciding to keep interest rates higher for longer. Major banks JP Morgan, American Express, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, all ended weak, losing between 1.7 to 2.8 percent. Chevron, Caterpillar, Intel, 3M and Walt Disney lost 2 to 2.8 percent. Boeing, Travelers Companies, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Visa, Cisco Systems and Nike ended lower by 1 to 1.7 percent. Apple, Meta Platforms and Alphabet also ended notably lower. Amgen climbed nearly 2 percent. Home Depot gained about 0.8 percent.

In the wake of weak US data, the stock markets in East Asia and also in Australia are falling on Wednesday. New data from China show that property prices have fallen slightly recently, which is not good news for the already troubled real estate sector. Nevertheless, property shares are recovering in Hong Kong. Country Garden, which had recently crashed, rose by 3.7 per cent, Longfor and China Vanke gained 3.5 and 2.4 per cent respectively.

Higher U.S. bond yields, and a warning from Fitch that it may have to downgrade credit ratings of several banks, including JP Morgan, hurt as well.

UBS raises Galenica to Buy (Neutral) – CHF 78 (76)
Bank of America raises Adidas to Buy (Neutral) – Trader
Deutsche Bank lowers New Work to EUR 130 (155) – Hold

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