U.K. regulators said they are examining Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, marking a first push by one of the world’s most influential competition authorities to scrutinize the relationship between the tech giant and the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it is seeking feedback on whether the partnership should be considered a de facto merger, in an initial step that could lead to a formal investigation. The move comes after a dramatic turn of events at OpenAI that resulted in the abrupt firing and reinstatement of Chief Executive Sam Altman, along with the formation of a new board. The new three-person board includes Bret Taylor, the former co-chief executive of cloud-software giant Salesforce ; former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers ; and Adam D’Angelo, the founder of the question-and-answer platform Quora and the sole remaining member of OpenAI’s previous board. The board plans to add more members. Microsoft, which invested $13 billion for a 49% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm, will gain a nonvoting observer position. A Microsoft spokesman later Friday said that the company “does not own any portion of OpenAI and is simply entitled to share of profit distributions.”

The Switzerland market ended on a firm note on Friday, in line with markets across the region, amid optimism the Fed will start cutting interest rates from early next year, and on data showing a bigger than expected addition in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in November. The benchmark SMI ended the day's session with a gain of 103.67 points or 0.95% at 11,071.77. Swisscom, down marginally, was the only loser in the SMI index. Richemont climbed about 2.6% and Logitech International gained 2.1%. UBS Group surged 1.8% and Roche Holdings ended higher by 1.54%. Swiss Life Holding and ABB both gained about 1.4%. Sonova and Partners Group moved up nearly 1%. Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech soared nearly 14%. ams OSRAM AG shares gained about 5.2%. Sandoz advanced 3.2%, while Belimo Holding gained 2.5%. Julius Baer, Tecan Group, Lindt & Spruengli, Straumann Holding, Barry Callebaut, Ems Chemie Holding, Schindler Ps, Swatch Group and Schindler Holding ended higher by 1.3 to 2%.

European stocks closed higher on Friday, and most of the major markets in the region posted strong weekly gains, after data showed a bigger than expected addition in U.S. non-farm payroll employment, and a drop in the unemployment rate. Data showing a notable drop in Germany's consumer price inflation in the month of November contributed as well to the positive mood in the European markets. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.74%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.57%, Germany's DAX gained 0.78% and France's CAC 40 surged 1.32%, while Switzerland's SMI ended stronger by 1.07%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended higher. Greece and Russia edged up marginally, while Iceland, Ireland and Turkey closed weak. Oil stocks gained after calls from Saudi Arabia and Russia for OPEC+ members to joint output cuts. In the UK market, Antofagasta rallied more than 4.5%. IHG, Ashtead Group, Burberry, Barclays, Halma, Croda International, Carnival, TUI, Diageo, Kingfisher, RightMove, Flutter Entertainment, BP and Melrose Industries gained 2 to 3.5%. Ferguson, Phoenix Holdings, Informa, BAE Systems, Whitbread, Lloyds Banking, St. James's Place, Smith & Nephew, J Sainsbury, Schrodders and Experian also ended sharply higher. Anglo American Plc tanked more than 17% after it announced plans to slash production in a bid to cut costs. Berkeley Holdings ended down 3.6% after it flagged persisting housing demand woes. Imperial Brands, BT, Hiscox and Segro lost 1 to 2%. In the German market, Sartorius, Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care and BMW climbed 3 to 3.6%. Infineion and Deutsche Bank gained about 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. Volkswagen, Deutsche Post, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Symrise and HeidelbergCement also ended notably higher. Siemens Energy ended down 2%. Vonovia drifted down by about 1.4%, and Merck shed 0.8%.

Markets ticked higher to end the week after closely watched jobs data came in slightly hotter than expectations. U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department said, a slowdown from earlier in the year but more than economists expected. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.7%. The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher to post a weekly gain, its sixth straight. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average also added 0.4%. All three major indexes closed at their highest level of the year. For traders, Friday’s data added to optimism that the economy is gliding toward a soft landing. Stocks have rallied and bond yields have dropped since the beginning of November as investors have bet that the Federal Reserve will get inflation under control without causing a steep recession. “Investors should applaud the report as it suggests the Fed is delivering a goldilocks scenario of lower inflation without recession,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard. Meanwhile, Lululemon reported better sales growth than Wall Street expected after the close on Thursday, sending the athleisure retailer’s shares up 5.4% to a record. Paramount Global was the S&P 500’s best performer Friday, soaring 12% after online entertainment news site Deadline reported that several investors are eyeing a takeover of the company.

Trading on the stock exchanges in East Asia was very mixed on Monday. While the HSI in Hong Kong fell by 1.6 per cent, the Nikkei-225 in Tokyo rose by 1.3 per cent to 32,741 points. However, it had also fallen very sharply on the previous two trading days, mainly because the yen had appreciated massively. Some relief is now coming from this side, with the dollar recovering somewhat to 145.50 yen, compared with levels just above 144 at the end of trading on Friday in Tokyo.

U.S. treasury yields rose after the jobs report, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note hitting 4.244%, from 4.129% Thursday.

HSBC raises the DHL Group target to EUR 52 (45) – Buy
UBS downgrades Zurich Airport to Neutral (Buy) – Target CHF 195 (199)
JPM raises OMV to Neutral (Underweight) – Target EUR 45 (47)

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.