GSK PLC raised its guidance after third-quarter net profit rose mainly due to the U.S. launch of its Arexvy vaccine, although it missed analysts’ forecasts. The British pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday that net profit from continuing operations for the third quarter was 1.46 billion pounds ($1.77 billion), boosted by the vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, compared with GBP759 million a year earlier and a company-compiled consensus of GBP1.87 billion. Turnover for the period rose to GBP8.15 billion from GBP7.83 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of GBP7.77 billion. Third quarter adjusted operating profit - one of the company’s preferred metrics which strips out exceptional and other one-off items - rose 15% to GBP2.77 billion, while adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations rose 17% to 50.4 pence. For the year, GSK expects turnover to increase between 12% and 13% compared with previous guidance of 8% to 10% and adjusted operating profit to increase between 13% and 15%, up from 11% to 13%. Adjusted earnings per share are forecast to rise between 17% and 20% compared with 14% to 17%.

The Swiss stock market ended on a strong note on Wednesday, with investors indulging in sustained buying at several counters, reacting to quarterly earnings updates, and looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The benchmark SMI, which stayed positive right through the day's session, settled with a gain of 112.73 points or 1.08% at 10,503.89. The index climbed to a high of 10.542.61 intraday. UBS Group surged nearly 2.5%. Holcim gained about 2.2% and Swiss Re added 1.85%. Roche Holding ended higher by 1.65%. Zurich Insurance Group, Logitech International, Nestle, Sonova, Alcon, Partners Group and Swisscom gained 1 to 1.5%. Novartis and Lonza Group posted moderate gains. Kuehne & Nagel drifted down 1.1% and Sika ended lower by about 0.8%. Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, Barry Callebaut shares climbed nearly 5% after the world's biggest chocolate maker updated its mid-term volume target. Lindt & Spruengli, Tecan Group and Dufry gained more than 2%. Sandoz, Helvetia, Swatch Group and Temenos Group advanced 1 to 1.5%. Georg Fischer, Straumann Holding, Meyer Burger Tech, PSP Swiss Property, SIG Combibloc and SGS ended notably lower. On the economic front, the Swiss procure.ch and Credit Suisse Manufacturing PMI dropped to 40.6 in October 2023, easing from September's 44.9. Economists had expected the reading to come in at 45.0. The reading remained close to July's 14-year low of 38.5.

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains, as investors digested the latest batch of earnings and economic reports, and awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.67%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.28% up, Germany's DAX gained 0.76% and France's CAC 40 ended up 0.68%, while Switzerland's SMI advanced 1.08%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher. Austria, Finland, Iceland and Sweden ended weak, while Norway closed flat. In the UK market, Next gained more than 4.5% after raising its profit guidance for the fourth time so for this fiscal year Melrose Industries climbed 3.7% and Centrica rallied 3.2%. CRH, Associated British Foods, 3i, Flutter Entertainment, Admiral and United Utilities advanced 2 to 2.6%. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Sainsbury, Pearson, Severn Trent and Persimmon also ended notably higher. Standard Chartered ended down 2.7%. Antofagasta drifted down nearly 2.5%. GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays, Fresnillo, BP, BT, Croda International, Intertek Group and Natwest shed 1 to 2%. In the German market, Hannover Rueck climbed nearly 3% and Sartorius ended 2.7% up. MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Qiagen, E.ON, Commerzbank, BMW, HeidelbergCement, Mercedes-Benz, Allianz, Continental and Deutsche Telekom gained 1 to 2%. BASF ended 3% down.

Many investors on Wednesday looked to the Federal Reserve for hints about whether this autumn’s unusual ascent in Treasury yields would help finish America’s inflation fight. The central bank’s message: maybe. In the tug of war between low-risk government debt and higher-risk equities, that was enough of a signal to push stocks higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, or 222 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.6%. The S&P 500 increased 1.1%, led by the information-technology and communication services sectors. Major indexes have logged three straight monthly declines as a run-up in Treasury yields drew investors to bonds’ roughly 5% returns. Wednesday’s slip in yields opened the door for the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks to climb higher. Facebook -owner Meta and chip-maker Nvidia led the pack by advancing more than 3.5% apiece, while Amazon.com posted a 2.9% gain. But the big winner among artificial-intelligence-aligned tech stocks was Advanced Micro Devices. Shares jumped 9.7% after executives forecast robust sales of advanced AI chips next year, putting the firm’s stock on pace for its best year since 2020. Although more firms than usual have beaten Wall Street’s earnings estimates for the third quarter, many investors have instead zeroed in on projections for clues about how companies navigate an uncertain U.S. economic outlook. Kraft Heinz vowed to not go crazy with discounts despite some inflation-weary Americans shunning higher grocery costs. The bad news for ketchup and sliced-cheese lovers left a good taste in investors’ mouths: Kraft Heinz stock climbed 2.4%.

Stock markets in East Asia and Australia are moving upwards on Thursday. The markets get a tailwind from Wall Street. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rises by 0.8 per cent. The sub-index of technology stocks improves by a good 2 per cent. Among the individual stocks, Xiaomi rises by 6.5 per cent and Lenovo by 4 per cent. Things look less good on the mainland Chinese stock exchanges. The Shanghai Composite is just about flat, weighed down by concerns about the Chinese economy.

U.S. treasury yields fell further later in the session, pulling 10-year yields to 4.790%, after the Fed held interest-rates steady again at 22-year highs.

UBS lowers Kuehne+Nagel to CHF 255 (269) – Neutral
UBS lowers HSBC to 620 (650) GBp – Neutral
BoA lowers DHL (Deutsche Post) to EUR 51 (60) – Buy

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