Julius Baer said, together with the Board of Directors, it will review the company's private debt business and the framework in which it is conducted. Julius Baer also stated that is very well capitalised and has been consistently profitable under all circumstances. Also, the company reconfirmed its capital distribution policy, under which it targets a dividend payout ratio of approximately 50% of adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders, with the dividend per share at least equal to the previous year's dividend per share. Philipp Rickenbacher, CEO, said: 'We regret that a single exposure has led to the recent uncertainty for our stakeholders.' In the Interim Management Statement on 20 November 2023, Julius Baer reported that it had booked provisions of 70 million Swiss francs against the credit portfolio after 31 October 2023. The Group confirmed that this amount was primarily related to the single largest exposure in its private debt loan book. This nominal exposure amounts to 606 million francs comprising three loans to different entities within a European conglomerate. Julius Baer noted that it has taken measures to protect its interests and to preserve the value of its collateral.

The Switzerland market ended on a weak note on Monday, tracking weakness in markets across Europe, amid lingering concerns about global economic slowdown, and caution ahead of some crucial economic data. On the Swiss economic front, data on retail sales, GDP, report on manufacturing activity, and the KOF Leading Indicators readings are due this week. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 58.46 points or 0.54% at 10,821.06, the session's low. The index once again moved in a very narrow range. Lonza Group ended 1.63% down. UBS Group and Partners Group drifted down 1.29% and 1.18%, respectively. Sika and Novartis both ended nearly 1% down. Geberit, Roche Holding and ABB shed about 0.75%. Richemont, Nestle and Holcim ended modestly lower. Sonova climbed about 1.3%. Kuehne & Nagel, Swiss Re and Givaudan posted modest gains. In the Mid Price index, SIG Combibloc ended 2.87% down, and Julius Baer ended lower by 2.29% after the wealth manager said it would review its private debt business. Clariant, Baloise Holding, ams OSRAM, Swatch Group, Helvetia, Avolta, Meyer Burger Tech and Schindler Holding lost 1 to 1.7%. Galenica Sante, Barry Callebaut, Flughafen Zurich, SGS and Swiss Prime Site ended on a positive note.

European stocks closed lower on Monday after spending almost the entire duration of the day's session in negative territory, as the mood remained cautious ahead of crucial economic data from across the European region, the U.S., and China. Growth worries returned to the fore after data showed profits at China's industrial companies rose at a much slower pace in October than the prior month. Euro area price growth outlook continued to be surround by significant uncertainty and it is not yet time to declare the end of the fight against inflation, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday. 'Looking ahead, we expect the weakening of inflationary pressures to continue, even though headline inflation may rise again slightly in the coming months, mainly owing to some base effects,' Lagarde said in a speech at a European Parliament hearing. A slew of crucial economic data from the U.S., including reports on GDP, personal income, manufacturing activity, and pending home sales are due this week. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.34%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both ended lower by 0.37%. Germany's DAX drifted down 0.39% and Switzerland's SMI closed lower by 0.54%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Poland closed weak. Spain and Sweden edged down marginally, while Greece, Portugal and Turkiye ended higher. In the UK market, St. James's Place, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca, Burberry Group, Flutter Entertainment, Prudential, Rentokil Initial, Entain, Lloyds Banking Group and Schrodders ended lower by 1 to 2.3%.

U.S. stocks inched down Monday, interrupting their November rally. The S&P 500 declined 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back about 57 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite edged less than 0.1% lower. All three major U.S. stock indexes are on track for the best monthly performances in more than a year after four consecutive weeks of gains. Monday’s market action follows the Thanksgiving holiday and a shortened Black Friday session. Shopify shares gained 4.9% after the ecommerce platform said its merchants recorded $4.1 billion in Black Friday sales, up 22% from a year earlier. Shares of Amazon.com rose 0.7%, with the stock closing at its highest level since April 2022. Buy-now-pay-later company Affirm’s shares jumped 12% after a report from Adobe said buy-now-pay-later transactions drove $760 million in online spending in Black Friday weekend sales, up 20% from last year. Meanwhile, sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. declined more than expected in October. U.S. new-home sales fell 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 679,000 in October, the Commerce Department reported Monday, a bigger drop than projected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Elsewhere, shares of Crown Castle rose 3.4% after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist Elliott Investment Management has built a stake of more than $2 billion in the wireless-tower owner and is planning to renew its push for changes at the company.

The East Asian stock markets showed a mixed trend on Tuesday. Overall, hopes that the interest rate summit in the USA has been reached continue to provide support. Nevertheless, the outlook for the economic recovery in China remains subdued. In addition, investors are still waiting for a major stimulus package in China to boost the local economy. So far, only small steps have been taken, they say. Against this backdrop, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by a further 0.9 per cent. The Shanghai Composite recovered slightly from the day's lows and was little changed.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which influences the rate on borrowing for everything from mortgages to corporate loans, declined to 4.388%. The benchmark yield has dropped sharply from the 5% level it briefly topped last month.

UBS lowers SIG Group target to CHF 26 (27) – Buy
UBS lowers Hapag-Lloyd target to EUR 99 (130) – Sell
Deutsche Bank raises Givaudan target to CHF 3,200 (3,050) – Hold

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