Tesla warned of “notably” slower growth in 2024, and its profit margin took a hit in the fourth quarter, signaling more uncertainty ahead for the world’s most valuable automaker and the broader electric-vehicle industry. For the fourth quarter, Tesla’s net income more than doubled to $7.9 billion, largely due to a one-time tax benefit. But the company’s income from operations was down 47% from the prior-year period, and its fourth-quarter revenue came in shy of analysts’ expectations. Chief Executive Elon Musk also reiterated his desire for greater control over the electric-car company, saying he wants enough to have strong influence and deter activist shareholders. The billionaire entrepreneur stunned Wall Street last week by offering what amounted to an ultimatum: He wrote on X that unless he controls around 25% of Tesla, he would prefer to build artificial intelligence and robotics products elsewhere. “I’m not looking for additional economics. I just want to be an effective steward of very powerful technology,” Musk said Wednesday on the company’s earnings call. He currently owns 13% of the company and is the largest shareholder. Tesla’s stock was down 3,4% in after-hours trading Wednesday, following the release of financial results. Shares have fallen some 16% this year.

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The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 47.56 points or 0.43% at 11,196.82. The index moved in a tight band between 11,144.16 and 11,199.49. Lonza Group gained about 2.1%. Partners Group, UBS Group and Richemont climbed 1.9%, 1.79% and 1.46%, respectively. Swiss Life Holding gained 1.25% and Holcim ended 1.01% up. ABB advanced nearly 1%. Kuehne & Nagel dropped 1.04%. Nestle, Logitech International and Sonova ended higher by 0.6%. In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech soared 9.32%. VAT Group gained 3.4%. Adecco, ams OSRAM AG and Belimo Holding ended higher by 2.16%, 2.08% and 1.63%, respectively. Sandoz, Avolta, Georg Fischer, Temenos Group, Schindler Ps, Straumann Holding, Ems Chemie Holding, Helvetia and Flughafen Zurich gained 0.8 to 1.2%. Barry Callebaut closed lower by 1.64% after sales volumes rose slightly in the three months to the end of November. Swatch Group ended down 2.6%. BKW and Tecan Group lost 1.1% and 0.74%, respectively.

European markets closed higher on Wednesday with technology stocks turning in a fine performance. Data showing an improvement in euro zone consumer sentiment in the month of January and positive reaction to China's stimulus announcement contributed to markets' gains. Investors looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement on Thursday for clues about the bank's interest-rate trajectory. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.18%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.56%, Germany's DAX surged 1.58% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.91% up, while Switzerland's SMI settled with a 0.43% gain. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Russia ended weak, while Iceland and Norway closed flat. In the UK market, Antofagasta rallied more than 5%. Fresnillo gained nearly 4.5% after it reported higher silver production for 2023. Anglo American Plc, Endeavour, Burberry Group and Glencore gained 3 to 4.5%. Shares of low-cost carrier EasyJet gained about 2.5% after the company said it expected winter losses to narrow this year. In the German market, Siemens Energy soared more than 9% after posting forecast-beating Q1 results. SAP surged nearly 8% after it announced plans to restructure 8,000 jobs in a push toward artificial intelligence growth.

Stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but gave back ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session in afternoon trading, with the Dow sliding into negative territory. The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 55.98 points or 0.4 percent to 15,481.92 and the S&P 500 inched up 3.95 points or 0.1 percent to 4,868.55, the Dow fell 99.06 points or 0.3 percent to 37,806.39. Despite the afternoon pullback, the S&P 500 crept up to a new record closing high and the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in over two years. Technology stocks helped lead the way higher in early trading on Wall Street, with shares of Netflix (NFLX) soaring by 10.7 percent on the day. Netflix rallied after the streaming giant reported better than expected fourth quarter revenues on stronger than expected subscriber growth. The strong results added to optimism about earnings from other tech companies, with IBM Corp. (IBM) among the companies releasing their quarter results after the close of today's trading. Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, potentially reflecting renewed interest rate concerns amid a rebound by treasury yields. Industry giant AT&T (T) tumbled by 3.0 after reporting weaker than expected first quarter earnings and forecasting 2024 earnings below analyst estimates.

Positive signs predominated on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia on Thursday. There is a particularly strong upward trend on the Chinese stock exchanges. After the Chinese central bank (PBoC) lowered the minimum reserve requirement for banks on Wednesday after the close of trading, investors are hoping for further economic stimuli. The Hang Seng Index rose by 1.9 per cent in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, the Composite Index advances by 2.6 per cent. Shares from the property, banking and telecoms sectors are in demand.

In the U.S. bond market, treasuries came under pressure over the course of the session after seeing initial strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 3.6 basis points to 4.178 percent after hitting a low of 4.086 percent.

HSBC downgrades Kuehne + Nagel to Reduce (Hold) – Target CHF 235 (250)

Citi lowers Swatch target to CHF 212 (253) – Neutral

Barclays raises Airbus target to EUR 154 (152) – Overweight

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