FedEx reported higher profit in the fiscal second quarter as weaker demand continued to pressure revenue. The Memphis, Tenn.-based package-shipping company posted a profit of $900 million, or $3.55 a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with $788 million, or $3.07 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected per-share earnings of $3.97. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings came to $3.99, below the $4.19 forecast by analysts, according to FactSet. Revenue fell to $22.2 billion from $22.8 billion a year earlier, missing the $22.36 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet. The company has been looking to cut costs as it merges its Ground and Express units. Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam said the company’s results showed “clear evidence of the progress we are making on our transformation as we navigate an uncertain demand environment.” Fedex shares slumped by 9.8 per cent during after-hours trading.

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Weighed down by a firm currency and the defensive heavyweights Novartis (-0.8%), Nestle (-1.5%) and Roche (-0.5%), the Swiss stock market closed slightly down on Tuesday, lagging behind the European markets. The SMI lost 0.1 per cent to 11,146 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were nine losers and nine gainers, with two stocks closing unchanged. A total of 23.69 (previously: 19.33) million shares were traded. UBS was in demand having advanced by 3.4 per cent. The financial investor Cevian Capital acquired a stake of around 1.3 per cent in the bank for 1.2 billion euros. Following data regarding Swiss watch exports, Richemont and Swatch lost 0.6 and 0.5 per cent respectively. ABB (+0.3%) equips Volvo with industrial robots for the production of electric vehicles. However, UBS had downgraded the share. Roche did not benefit from the fact that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Xolair a priority review. Among the second-line stocks, Leonteq gained 0.1 per cent; the company holds a 10 per cent stake in the Swiss stock exchange BX Swiss. Meanwhile, Aryzta (+0.9%) invested in Australia.

The European stock markets came close to their highs for the year on Tuesday, while bond yields continued to fall. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.4% to 477 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 advanced by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.6%, while the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3%. Veterinary laboratory Virbac (+12%) raised its 2023 targets for the second time this year, on the back of a continuing rebound in sales during the third quarter. Foodservices group Sodexo (-0.7%) announced that its Pluxee meal and gift voucher business would be listed at Euronext Paris on 1 February 2024. Mining group Eramet (+2.1%) signed a ten-year commercial agreement with Vibrantz Technologies to supply the US company with manganese ore for manufacturing manganese sulphate, used in particular for electric vehicle batteries. German industrial conglomerate Siemens (+2.8% in Frankfurt) reduced its stake in Siemens Energy (+0.8%) by transferring 8% of the capital to Siemens Pension-Trust, an independent management company for its pension funds. Superdry fell by 17.5 per cent following a profit warning in London. The clothing manufacturer's retail sales shrank by 13 per cent over the 26 weeks to the end of October, while wholesale sales dropped by as much as 41 per cent.

Growing optimism about the U.S. economy continued propelling the stock and bond markets Tuesday, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its fifth record in as many days. All three major indexes started the session in the green and didn’t look back. Led by Walgreens Boots Alliance and Caterpillar, the Dow rose 0.7%, or 252 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also edged 0.7% higher, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6%. Tuesday’s gains spanned every sector of the S&P 500, with energy and communications services leading the way. Smaller companies also continued outpacing the rest of the market as the Russell 2000 rose 1.9%. Shares in capital-intensive renewable-energy companies extended their Fed-fueled tear. The solar and battery-system supplier Enphase Energy advanced 9.1% after announcing that it would cut 10% of its workforce, while SolarEdge Technologies climbed 9.4% and First Solar rose 4%. The chipmaker Nvidia fell 0.9%, weighing on tech stocks. At the same time, Facebook -owner Meta reclaimed a $900 billion valuation after its share price rose by 1.7%. For oil traders, threats to one of the world’s crucial trade routes are propping up prices. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.3%, to $73.44 a barrel, amid fears that Yemen’s Houthi rebels could keep attacking ships passing through the Red Sea on their way to or from the Suez Canal. Even as the U.S. assembles an international task force to protect commercial traffic, the risk from the Iranian-backed Houthis boosted shares in many energy firms. Shares in international oil majors, U.S. fuel refiners, shale drillers and tanker operators all gained Tuesday. Biotech company Bluebird Bio (-20%) unveiled plans for a $150 million rights issue. Amgen gained 1.1% as BMO Capital upgraded its recommendation for the stock to "outperform", with the bank deeming the group's potential attained in the obesity drugs market to be "underestimated".

The stock markets in East Asia followed the favourable lead of Wall Street on Wednesday, where the Dow Jones Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index reached new record highs. Tokyo and Seoul are up 1.6 per cent, with the Japanese Nikkei index reaching 33,750 points. In Hong Kong, the increase was 1.1 per cent. Only Shanghai lost ground, with the leading index there now down 0.5 per cent after a positive start. Among the biggest winners in Tokyo were the shares of car manufacturers considered to be sensitive to exports in view of the recent weakness of the yen. Mazda gained 4.6 per cent and Honda 2.9 per cent. Shipping company shares were only temporarily lower against the backdrop of the recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen recorded marked gains of up to 2.6 per cent in line with the market.

U.S. government debt yields finished mostly lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark 10-year rate returning to an almost five-month low, after the Bank of Japan kept its negative interest-rate policy and gave little indication of a potential shift in its ultra-loose stance soon. The 10-year Treasury note yield lost 2 basis points to 3.921%. The 2-year Treasury note yield fell by 2 basis points to 4.446%.

Target price Givaudan: Barclays raises to CHF 3000 (2800) - Underweight

Target price Ascom: UBS lowers to CHF 11 (15) - Buy

Target price Schindler: UBS cuts to CHF 250 (280) - Buy

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