Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are being inspected for potential loose bolts in the rudder control system. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it was “closely monitoring” the inspections and would consider additional action based on the discovery of loose or missing hardware. Boeing has asked operators of newer single-aisle airplanes to inspect certain tie rods that control rudder movement, according to the FAA. The FAA said Boeing recommended the inspections after an operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance. Boeing found a nut that was not properly tightened in an undelivered aircraft. “The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” a Boeing spokesperson said. The company is recommending inspections “out of an abundance of caution.” Major carriers, including United Airlines and American Airlines, said they didn’t expect any impact to their operations. American said it would complete the recommended inspections, and United referred further queries to Boeing.

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After a modest uptick in early trades on Thursday, the Swiss market retreated and spent the rest of the day's session in negative territory as investors chose to take profits amid a lack of fresh triggers. The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 11,129.24 in early trades, ended the days's session with a loss of 56.43 points or 0.51% at 11,057.55. UBS Group ended down 1.63% and Richemont drifted down 1.2%, while Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re, Kuehne & Nagel, Givaudan, Swisscom and Geberit lost 0.6 to 1%. ABB, Zurich Insurance Group, Holcim, Sika and Roche Holding also closed weak. Lonza Group and Alcon edged up marginally. Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, ams OSRAM AG ended 2.6% down. Lindt & Spruengli, SIG Combibloc, Helvetia, BKW, Temenos Group, Avolta, Baloise Holding and Straumann Holding ended lower by 0.8 to 1.4%. Meyer Burger Tech and Galenica Sante both gained about 0.8%. Swiss Prime Site, Schindler Holding and SGS edged up marginally.

European stocks closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by a bit of profit taking after recent gains that have taken several markets in the region to record highs amid rising optimism the Federal Reserve will cut interest rate soon. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.11%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.03%, Germany's DAX closed lower by 0.24%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.48%, and Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss of 0.51%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain ended weak. Denmark, Iceland, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Netherlands and Sweden ended flat. In the UK market, BT and Just Eat Takeawy.com both ended more than 2% down. Hargreaves Lansdown, ITV, Flutter Entertainment, Smurfit Kappa Group and Entain ended lower by 1 to 1.4%. Carnival gained 1.7%, recovering from previous session's losses. Scottish Mortgage, BAE Systems, Unilever, TUI, Rio Tinto and Prudential ended higher by 0.5 to 1.2%. In the German market, Infineon, Volkswagen, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Adidas, Deutsche Post and Mercedes-Benz ended down 0.5 to 1.1%. In Paris, TotalEnergies, Societe Generale, Engie, Dassault Systemes, WorldLine, Kering and Renault lost 1 to 1.7%.

Stocks inched higher Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its longest weekly winning streak in nearly 20 years. The broad index gained 0.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.03, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, or 54 points. Markets are ending 2023 on a hot streak. All three indexes are on pace for a ninth consecutive weekly gain. For the S&P 500, that would mark the longest streak since January 2004. The index is now within 0.3% of its all-time high, set in January 2022. With one trading session remaining in 2023, the S&P 500 is up 25%. Optimism that the Federal Reserve can successfully cool inflation without inducing a major economic slowdown has powered the market’s recent advance. Now, some investors say the looming end of the calendar year is giving markets an extra boost. Stocks often rise at year-end because investors typically wait to sell stocks that have appreciated to avoid paying taxes. Trading volume is usually lower near the holidays, which can exacerbate market moves. The S&P 500’s top performer Thursday was Match Group, which advanced 2.6%. Tesla was the index’s biggest laggard, dropping 3.2%.

Minor profit-taking characterised trading on many stock exchanges in East Asia and Australia on Friday. News and turnover are thin on the last trading day of the year. Wall Street, which closed little changed on Thursday, also failed to provide any impetus. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.5 per cent. Since the beginning of the year, the index has gained almost 30 per cent. In Shanghai, the Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent. Although the index has recovered in recent days, the annual balance here is negative at minus 4 per cent - as in the two previous years.

U.S. bond yields rose as prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.849%, up from 3.788% Wednesday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.61%, down more than a percentage point from a 23-year high of 7.79% in late October, according to data released by mortgage giant Freddie Mac on Thursday. The rate has declined for nine consecutive weeks.

Equita raises ASML target by 7% to EUR 640 – Hold

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