Dominion Energy announced plans to sell several of its natural gas-distribution companies to Enbridge for $9.4 billion as it focuses on investing in renewable energy and improving the electric grid. Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline operator, has agreed to pay $9.4 billion in cash and assume $4.6 billion in debt to acquire the gas-distribution companies, which operate pipeline networks in Ohio, North Carolina and parts of the Western U.S. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Dominion was considering a sale of the companies. The sale comes as lawmakers and regulators across the U.S. debate the future of natural gas and more towns and cities look to reduce its use in homes and businesses. In response, utilities are working to determine how to modify, repurpose or sell their natural-gas delivery networks, which may risk becoming stranded assets, or facilities that retire before they pay for themselves. Dominion, which supplies electricity or natural gas to about seven million customers in 15 states, last year announced "top-to-bottom business review" to improve its share price, in part by preparing its electric utilities to meet higher demand driven by electric vehicle adoption, data center expansion and efforts to phase out natural gas for home heating and cooking.

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The Switzerland stock market ended weak on Wednesday, in line with markets across Europea, as worries about economic slowdown, inflation and prospects of further monetary tightening by global central banks weighed on sentiment. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 34.48 points or 0.31% at 10,924.42. The index touched a low of 10,859.02 and a high of 10,948.62. Richemont ended 5.2% down, and UBS Group ended lower by 2.28%. Partners Group, Novartis and Roche Holding lost 0.6 to 0.7%. Swiss Life Holding climbed 2.13%. Logitech, Sika, ABB, Kuehne & Nagel, Swiss Re and Givaudan gained 1.1 to 1.7%. In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech dropped 5.65%. Swatch Group, DocMorris and Bachem Holding ended lower by 2.3 to 2.7%. Dufry, Tecan Group and AMS lost 1.3 to 1.5%, while Julius Baer, Temenos Group, Georg Fischer, SIG Combibloc and Straumann Holding ended lower by 0.7 to 1.1%. Schindler Holding, Schindler Ps, Barry Callebaut and Clariant gained 1.3 to 1.6%. PSP Swiss Property, VAT Group and Baloise Holding also posted notable gains.

European stocks closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by rising concerns about inflation due to high oil prices, slowing economic growth, and possibility of further monetary tightening by global central banks. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.57% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.16%, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.19% and France's CAC 40 lost 0.84%, while Switzerland's SMI lost 0.31%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed weak. Belgium and Finland ended higher, while Czech Republic, Denmark and Sweden closed flat. In the UK market, Just Eat Takeaway.com shares dropped more than 5%. Burberry Group drifted down 4.7%. IAG and Easyjet ended lower by about 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively. St. James's Place, Prudential, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Associated British Foods, Hargreaves Lansdown, Ashtead, Smurfit Kappa Group, 3I, Persimmon, Fresnillo, AstraZeneca, CRH, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Ferguson lost 1 to 2.3%. Johnson Matthey and Royal Mail both gained about 3.7%. The Sage Group, Land Securities, Bunzl and Segro advanced 1.7 to 2%. Antofagasta, Relx, Experian and Pearson also closed notably higher. In the German market, Fresenius Medical Care declined more than 4%. Zalando and Commerzbank ended lower by 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively. Fresenius, Sartorius, Deutsche Bank, Qiagen, Merck, Symrise and Bayer lost 1 to 2.2%. Vonovia rallied more than 2%. RWE, HeidelbergCement, Henkel and Porsche gained 1 to 1.4%. In Paris, LVMH dropped about 3.7%.

Stocks slumped on Wednesday after investors received a fresh sign that the U.S. economy could be revving up, fanning inflation fears. Major indexes all fell, led by the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite's 1.1% slide. Some of the year's best performers suffered the most: Shares of Nvidia and Apple both dropped more than 3%. The losses, however, were broad-based, with everything from shares of real-estate companies to manufacturers and banks falling. Nine of the S&P 500's sectors finished in the red, dragging the benchmark index down 0.7%. The Dow industrials lost 0.6%, or 199 points. The economy's services sector expanded for an eighth consecutive month in August, according to an Institute for Supply Management index, beating the expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Employment, prices and new orders all jumped from the prior month. The resilience of the labor market and consumer spending has complicated the work of central bankers trying to tame inflationary pressures with interest-rate increases. Comcast and Disney have agreed to move up the date on which they begin negotiating the fate of their jointly-owned streaming service, Hulu, the cable company’s CEO said Wednesday. The companies plan to begin work negotiating a potential sale of Comcast’s minority stake in Hulu on Sept. 30, months earlier than their initial January start date. Hulu, home to shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Bear,” is likely worth more than $30 billion, Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts said.

After the mixed trend of the previous day, the East Asian stock markets are down again on Thursday. Once again Tokyo holds up better than its neighbouring stock markets, but this time the Nikkei 225 index also falls, albeit only by 0.3 per cent to 33,149 points. The yen, which is at a ten-month low and remains unimpressed by recent verbal interventions, continues to provide support. The dollar costs 147.54 yen.

U.S. bond prices fell as yields rose, reflecting fears that interest rates will remain restrictive for longer than investors anticipated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to 4.289% from 4.267%. The 2-year Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to Fed policy expectations, climbed to 5.022%, from 4.966% on Tuesday.

Citi raises the ING target to EUR 18.60 (12.60) – Buy

HSBC lowers the Hochtief target to 109 EUR – Hold

HSBC lowers the Jungheinrich target to 33 EUR – Hold

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