Tesla (-4.9%) reported its first year-over-year decline in quarterly deliveries since 2020, missing Wall Street’s expectations and stoking further concern about the company’s growth prospects this year.
Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker delivered 386,810 vehicles globally in the first three months of 2024, down 8.5% from a year earlier. It was the company’s lowest quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2022. The result was enough for Tesla to reclaim the title from China’s BYD as the world’s top EV seller on a quarterly basis. Yet, it is a troubling sign for the broader electric-vehicle market, where growth is slowing and automakers including Ford Motor and General Motors are recalibrating investment plans after finding consumers to be less enthusiastic about going electric than the companies had expected. Tesla shares fell 4.9% in trading on Tuesday. The company’s stock was down nearly 30% this year through Monday, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 index. Tesla is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results on April 23. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Tesla to report a quarterly profit of $1.8 billion, down roughly 27% from the first three months of 2023 as the company’s recent price cuts weigh on profitability. It would be the company’s lowest quarterly profit in more than two years. Revenue is expected to climb some 4% year-over-year to $24.3 billion, according to FactSet.

The Swiss stock market ended trading on Tuesday with considerable losses. The SMI fell by 1.2 per cent to 11,595 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 19 losers and 1 gainer. A total of 20.5 (previously: 23.53) million shares were traded. Among the individual stocks, the losses among the index heavyweights had a particularly negative impact. Novartis shares, for example, fell by 1.9 per cent. Competitor Roche's shares lost 1.1 per cent. Meanwhile, shares in food giant Nestle shed 1.0 per cent. Sonova (-2.6 per cent) and Sika (-2.4 per cent) also recorded significant losses. However, Swisscom's drop (-1.4%) was only optical, as the share was traded ex-dividend. The Group had distributed CHF 22 per share to its shareholders. Meanwhile, UBS shares held up comparatively well and closed little changed. The bank is launching a new share buyback programme of up to USD 2 billion. UBS also confirmed that this year's buybacks are expected to total up to USD 1 billion. The chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Lonza (-1.3%) has found a new CEO named Wolfgang Wienand. Wienand is currently still head of competitor Siegfried Holding (-5.4%).

The European stock markets have started the second quarter with a downturn. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.8% to 508.6 points, after hitting a new record high of 515.77 points at the start of the session. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each gave up 0.9%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 shed 1.1% after hitting an all-time session high of 18,567.16 points. The FTSE 100 fell by 0.2% in London. OPmobility, formerly Plastic Omnium, gained 4.1% to €12.57. JPMorgan has added the automotive supplier to its "Positive Catalyst Watch" list of stocks offering the best short-term risk/return ratio. JPMorgan has confirmed its "neutral" recommendation on OPmobility, while raising its target price from €13 to €14. Communications and media conglomerate Vivendi (-1.3%) is to sell its international festivals and ticketing activities to German events company CTS Eventim (+0.3% in Frankfurt) for an undisclosed sum.

The S&P 500 fell for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, weighed down by growing doubts that the Federal Reserve has fully tamed inflation. Climbing oil prices and bond yields pressured all three major U.S. stock indexes. The benchmark S&P 500 slid 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 397 points, or 1%. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to $88.92 a barrel after Syria and Iran accused Israel of a missile strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus. The prospect of rates remaining higher for longer is sapping Wall Street’s appetite for risk. Bitcoin tumbled 5% to $66,081 on Tuesday. Eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors finished the day in the red. Rising oil prices helped lift the energy sector to a 1.4% gain. The healthcare sector had its worst day of the year. The Biden administration announced Medicare Advantage rates for 2025 that were lower than Wall Street expected, weighing on shares of insurers and drugstore chains. Humana shares slid 13% to $304.33, its lowest close since April 2020. UnitedHealth Group shares fell 6.4% in their worst day since 2020. The stock of PVH fell 22% in its worst day since Black Monday in 1987. The owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger warned that it expected an 11% drop in sales for the current quarter. Yet, the S&P 500 is still up 9.1% for the year, after clinching its best first quarter since 2019.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Wednesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.7 per cent to 39,577 points. Following the publication of disappointing sales figures for its subsidiary Uniqlo, Fast Retailing lost 3.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Inpex (+3.9 per cent) follows the oil price upwards, which has risen further in the wake of the latest developments in the Middle East conflict. The business plan presented by Itochu (+4.6%) was received well. On the Hong Kong stock exchange, the Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2 per cent. A violent earthquake and a tsunami warning caused the Taiex in Taiwan to fall by 0.4 per cent. The Kospi in Seoul declined by 1.2 per cent. Shares of battery manufacturer Samsung SDI shed around 5 per cent. The heavy losses suffered by its key customer Tesla, which reported weak sales figures on Tuesday, weighed on the share price.

Signs that U.S. inflation could remain stickier than the Fed would like are pushing up long-term interest rates. Yields on 10- and 30-year Treasurys reached their highest levels since November. The 10-year Treasury note yield rose again on Tuesday, by 3 basis points to 4.355%, after having jumped the previous day. The 2-year Treasury note however fell by 2 basis points to 4.697%.

Price target Richemont: UBS raises to CHF 163 (149) - Buy
Price target Zurich Airport: HSBC upgrades to CHF 177 (156) - Reduce
Price target DocMorris: UBS raises to CHF 31.90 (29) - Sell

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