Nokia cut its operating margin guidance, with market conditions in its mobile networks business remaining challenging due to falling operator spending and the Indian market normalizing after a period of rapid 5G roll-outs. The Finnish telecom equipment maker said Tuesday that it now targets a comparable operating margin target of at least 13% by 2026, from at least 14% previously. The company has been experiencing a tough time, with demand weakening due to customers facing a tough macroeconomic environment beset by high inflation and rising interest rates. This sharp downturn in telecom operator spending has seen Nokia recently outline plans to cut as much as 16% of its workforce as it seeks to save up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.29 billion). Last week it cautioned that revenue was set to fall after U.S. operator AT&T selected Ericsson and other vendors to build out a new network. “Nokia still sees a path to achieving the at least 14% comparable operating margin target but considering the current market conditions in mobile networks, this is deemed a prudent change,” the company said.

Looking for New Structured Product Ideas?
https://en.swissquote.com/trading/investment-products/yield-boosters

After moving in a very narrow range, the Switzerland benchmark SMI ended marginally up on Tuesday with select stocks finding good support. Investors are looking ahead to the Swiss National Bank's monetary policy announcement due on Thursday. The SNB is widely expected to hold rates for now, and announce a reduction in September next year. A Bloomberg survey says the Swiss central bank will likely cut rates twice next year. The SMI ended up 20.86 points or 0.19% at 11,151.22, after moving between 11,119.69 and 11,168.18. Kuehne & Nagel rallied more than 3%. Logitech International climbed 1.67%, while Swiss Re, Givaudan, Lonza Group, Geberit, Holcim and Zurich Insurance Group gained 0.6 to 0.85%. Partners Group drifted down 0.81%. Roche Holding, ABB and UBS Group declined marginally. In the Mid Price Index, Sandoz, VAT Group, BKW and Straumann Holding gained 1 to 1.4%. Schindler Ps ended nearly 1% down. Avolta, PSP Swiss Property, Lindt & Spruengli, Schindler Holding and Clariant gained 0.5 to 0.8%. Meyer Burger Tech plunged nearly 19%. Barry Callebaut ended 2.79% down. ams OSRAM AG dropped 2.3%, while SIG Combibloc and Julius Baer ended lower by 1.4% and 1.28%, respectively.

The major European markets ended slightly weak on Tuesday after a choppy ride as investors reacted to the latest batch of economic reports from Europe and the consumer price inflation data from the U.S., and awaited monetary policy announcements from several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.21%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX edged down 0.03% and 0.02%, respectively. France's CAC 40 dropped 0.11%, while Switzerland's SMI gained 0.19%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak. Belgium, Greece, Ireland and Turkiye ended higher, while Netherlands settled flat. In the UK market, Hargreaves Lansdown dropped more than 6% after the U.K. regulator warned of possible intervention on client charges. Anglo American Plc and BT ended down 4.4% and 4.1%, respectively. Pennon, Vodafone, Fresnillo, Admiral Group, Ds Smith, Rentokil Initial, Prudential, Persimmon, St. James's Place, Segro, Ashtead Group, Imperial Brands and BP lost 1 to 2.3%. Royal Mail soares nearly 12%. TUI gained about 3.3%, while Rolls-Royce Holdings, Easyjet and Right Move gained 2.2 to 2.5%. Legal & General, Burberry Group, IAG, IHG, DCC, Relx, Johnson Matthey, BAE Systems and M&G advanced 1 to 1.7%. AstraZeneca gained about 0.8% after it agreed to buy Icosavax Inc, boosting its vaccine portfolio with an 'innovative' treatment for respiratory viruses. In the German market, Zalando ended down more than 4%. Siemens Energy and Merck both drifted down by about 3.3%. Commerzbank and MTU Aero Engines lost 2.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Hannover Rueck, HeidelbergCement and Beiersdorf ended down 1.4 to 2%.

Fresh inflation data released Tuesday kept investors’ soft-landing hopes alive, propelling U.S. stocks upward. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 173 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%. All three indexes closed at fresh 52-week highs for a third session in a row. The S&P 500 and Dow rose to their highest closing levels since January 2022, while the Nasdaq reached its highest close since March 2022. The major indexes are going on their seventh consecutive week of gains. November’s consumer-price report is the latest to suggest the U.S. economy is slowing enough to tame inflation, but not enough for the country to enter a recession. The consumer-price index rose 3.1% in November from a year prior, a slight pullback from October and in line with economist expectations. Prices increased 0.1% from the prior month, stronger than the steady reading economists had projected. Shares of Alphabet fell 0.6% on Tuesday after Google lost an antitrust case over the market power of its app store brought by videogame maker Epic Games. Oracle shares slid 12% after the business-software company reported weaker-than-expected revenue for its latest quarter. Hasbro shares eased 1.1% after The Journal reported the toy company would cut nearly 20% of its workforce. Lucid’s stock dropped 8.5% after the company announced its chief financial officer would resign.

Shortly before the US Federal Reserve announces its interest rate decision later on Wednesday, nervousness is growing among investors in East Asia and Australia. Economic concerns continue to weigh on the Chinese stock markets, fuelled by the falling producer prices published at the weekend, which indicated weak demand. Hopes for new economic stimuli have not yet materialised. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.6 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell by 0.8 per cent.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, used as a benchmark for borrowing costs for everything from mortgages to corporate loans, eased to 4.205% from 4.238% on Monday.

JPM raises the BHP target to 2,860 (2,650) p – Neutral

JPM raises the Rio Tinto target to 7,000 (6,310) p – Overweight

Citi raises Healthcare sector to Overweight

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.