Goldman Sachs reported lower profit for the third quarter, hurt by losses from selling off pieces of its consumer-lending business and a big drop in revenue in its asset and wealth-management division. The bank on Tuesday said quarterly profit was $2.1 billion, down 33% from a year ago. That amounted to $5.47 per share, which beat the $5.42 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue was $11.8 billion, down 1% from a year ago. That still beat the $11.2 billion expected by analysts. The quarter’s earnings reflect the continuing financial hit that Goldman is experiencing as it narrows its ambitions - namely, pulling back from its once-trumpeted consumer-lending efforts. It announced last week the sale of specialty lender GreenSky, and it has offloaded substantially all of its personal loans balances. Goldman is pinning much of its hopes for diversifying its revenue on its asset and wealth-management business. The unit’s revenue dropped 20%, partly because of one-time write-downs. Goldman took several charges that resulted in a nearly $1 billion hit to pretax profits. Write-downs on older investments in the asset and wealth-management unit amounted to $728 million, while GreenSky cost another $203 million. Overall, the charges reduced the quarter’s annualized return on equity by 3.1 percentage points to 7.1%.

The Swiss stock market ended lower on Tuesday as worries about inflation and interest rates continued to weigh on sentiment. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 10,766.87, ended with a loss of 75.01 points or 0.69% at 10,814.02. Lonza Group shares plunged more than 16%. The Swiss supplier for pharmaceutical and nutrition companies has warned on a hit to 2024 earnings due to lost revenue from an agreement with Moderna Inc. Sika tumbed 5.5%. Kuehne & Nagel and Geberit both ended lower by about 2%. Alcon, Partners Group and Sonova lost 1.5%, 1.35% and 1.05%, respectively. Swiss Re climbed 1.25%. Zurich Insurance Group, UBS Group and Swiss Life Holding posted modest gains. In the Mid Price index, Meyer Burger Tech, BKW, Georg Fischer, Galenica Sante, Tecan Group and Barry Callebaut lost 1.2 to 2.4%. Dufry, VAT Group, Helvetia and Temenos Group gained 1.5 to 1.8%.

European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as data showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. retail sales in the month of September raised concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. Investors also digested the latest batch of economic data from the European region, and U.S. industrial production data. The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down by 0.1%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.58%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.09% and 0.11%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.69%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ended weak. Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher. Belgium ended flat. On the economic front, the UK average earnings growth slowed in three months to August, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Average earnings excluding bonuses grew 7.8% in three months to August. The rate came in line with expectations but slower than the 7.9% increase seen in three months to July. Nonetheless, this was one of the highest annual growth rates since comparable records began in 2001. Germany's ZEW investor confidence index rose sharply in October. The economic sentiment indicator gained for a third month in a row, up 10.3 points to minus 1.1 in October, survey data from the think tank ZEW showed. Economists had forecast a score of minus 9.3. The latest reading was the strongest since April, when it was 4.1. In the UK market, TUI, Persimmon and Pennon gained 3.2 to 4%. AstraZeneca surged 2.7%, while JD Sports Fashion, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments, Hiscox, ICP, Ferguson, Natwest Group, Centrica, NEXT gained 1.3 to 2%. Just Eat Takeaway.com dropped nearly 3%.

U.S. government bond yields hit fresh decade-plus highs Tuesday after another hot economic-data release fueled concerns that interest rates could remain elevated for longer. Stocks wavered between gains and losses before closing little changed. The S&P 500 fell less than one-tenth of a percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than a tenth of a percent. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% lower. Higher bond yields are pushing up borrowing costs for companies, individuals and home buyers. But U.S. consumers are still on a spending binge that has helped sustain the economy. In earnings, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America both beat estimates for third-quarter earnings and revenue. Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year sales guidance and Lockheed Martin said it expected to increase sales this year despite the budget battle that has hit the Pentagon. Chipmaker shares came under pressure after the Commerce Department said it would significantly constrict exports of artificial-intelligence chips, making it tougher for companies like Nvidia and Intel to sell products in China. Nvidia closed down 4.7%. Moderna shares fell sharply for a second day after the vaccine maker warned Monday that there is uncertainty over U.S. vaccination rates, making projections difficult. Moderna was the S&P 500’s worst performer, dropping 6.1%. VF, the owner of brands including Vans and The North Face, surged 14% higher after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Engaged Capital has built a stake in the company and plans to push for changes, including steep cost cuts.

Mostly smaller changes in both directions are recorded on the stock exchanges in East Asia and Australia on Wednesday. The Nikkei falls 0.3 per cent to 31,955 points, weighed down by stocks in the pharmaceutical and electronics sectors. In Hong Kong, higher losses in opening trade were largely recovered after good Chinese economic data. Third quarter GDP and industrial production in September were better than expected.

U.S. Treasury yields jumped on Tuesday, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield rising to 4.846%, up from 4.709% Monday. It was the highest closing level since July 2007.

JP Morgan lowers Sika target to CHF 223 (230) – Underweight
Deutsche Bank lowers Delivery Hero target to EUR 33 (35) – Hold
Citi raises Total target to EUR 61 – Neutral

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