Reddit shares soared in their stock-market debut Thursday, an endorsement for the social-media company whose users fueled the meme-stocks craze and a boost for other companies eyeing 2024 IPOs. Reddit shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $47 a share, up 38% from their $34 initial public offer price, which was the top end of the expected range. The company's shares closed at $50.44, giving the company a valuation of more than $10 billion. Reddit, known for its oftentimes irreverent message boards and “ask me anything” digital town halls, had invited thousands of its most loyal users to buy shares in its IPO. It was a risky move that added pressure on Reddit and its bankers for the stock to perform well. It’s the second big IPO this week to jump in its first day of trading, a welcome change from two choppy years for new issues. Shares in Astera Labs rose more than 70% in the technology company’s debut Wednesday. The buzzy openings could encourage companies on the sidelines to list shares in the U.S., though bankers and investors say it is too early to predict. Reddit’s early success as a publicly traded company flies in the face of the opinions of some of its vocal users.

The Switzerland market ended on a bright note on Thursday with investors cheering the Swiss National Bank's decision to cut interest rate. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 85.03 points or 0.73% at 11,703.66. The index touched a high of 11,779.24 in early trades. The SNB became the first major central bank to ease the policy in the current cycle as the fight against inflation over the last two and a half years has been effective. The central bank, which unexpectedly lowered the policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.5%, said it remains willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. SNB President Thomas Jordan said, 'Our decision takes into account the significantly reduced inflationary pressure as well as the appreciation of the Swiss franc in real terms over the past year.' The policy rate cut supports economic activity and today's easing ensures that monetary conditions remain appropriate, the bank said. 'The SNB will continue to monitor the development of inflation closely, and will adjust its monetary policy again if necessary to ensure inflation remains within the range consistent with price stability over the medium term,' the bank said. The SNB downgraded inflation outlook for 2024 to 1.4% from 1.9%. Similarly, the projection for 2025 was trimmed to 1.2% from 1.6%. The central bank sees inflation at 1.1% in 2026.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday, with several markets rising to fresh record highs, as investors cheered dovish comments from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, and a surprise interest rate cut by Swiss National Bank. The markets also digested a slew of economic data from the European region. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.9%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended stronger by 1.88%, Germany's DAX gained 0.91% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.22% up. Switzerland's SMI settled higher by 0.73%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye ended with sharp to moderate gains. Denmark and Ireland closed weak, while Iceland ended flat. The Bank of England maintained its key policy rate for the fifth straight session on Thursday, with no members seeking a hike as inflation is expected to ease faster than expected. The BoE projected CPI inflation to fall slightly below the 2% target in the second quarter of 2024, marginally weaker than previously expected owing to the freeze in fuel duty announced in the Budget. In the UK market, 3i rallied nearly 9% after the private equity and infrastructure firm reported an 8 percent increase in net asset value (NAV) over the third quarter. Next gained more than 6% after posting improved pre-tax profit and backing guidance. St. James's Place also moved up more than 6%. Anglo American Plc, Airtel Africa, Fresnillo and Compass Group climbed 4 to 5.4%.

Stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Thursday but gave back ground over the course of the session. While the major averages pulled back well off their best levels of the day, they still ended the session at new record closing highs. The Dow finished the day firmly in positive territory, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted more modest gains. The Dow climbed 269.24 points or 0.7 percent to 39,781.37, the S&P 500 rose 16.91 points or 0.3 percent at 5,241.53 and the Nasdaq edged up 32.43 points or 0.2 percent to 16,401.84. The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from positive reaction to Wednesday's monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve. While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, the central bank also maintained its forecast for three interest rate cuts this year. Semiconductor stocks continued to see significant strength on the day, resulting in a 2.3 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Chipmaker Micron (MU) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 14.1 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results and providing upbeat fiscal third quarter guidance.

No clear trend can be discerned on the stock markets in East Asia at the end of the week following the favourable conditions on the US stock markets as a result of hopes of an interest rate cut. While firmer prices for car stocks in Tokyo are once again pulling the Nikkei upwards, the Chinese stock markets are falling sharply on Friday. The reason given was the latest economic data. Although the PBOC has hinted at further monetary easing, the latest economic data, which showed better economic activity than expected, could make the central bank more hesitant, according to analysts from UOB Global Economics & Markets Research.

In the U.S. bond, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session after seeing early strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point at 4.271 percent

UBS raises the Rolls-Royce target to 550 (400) p – Buy
UBS lowers the Kering target to EUR 450 (480) – Buy
Citi lowers the Barclays to GBP 2.65 (2.75) – Buy

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