Car manufacturer Stellantis announced on Wednesday that it would be investing a further €100 million to "strengthen the potential" of its Fiat 500e electric car. At the same time, the group headed by Carlos Tavares announced on Wednesday the start-up of a new production activity at its historic Mirafiori site in northern Italy, with electrified double-clutch gearboxes (e-DCT). "This launch represents the next stage in a €240 million investment to transform the complex" and create the "Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030", said Stellantis in a statement. The carmaker is aiming to produce 600,000 electrified dual-clutch gearboxes a year to equip the next generation of its hybrid models.

After a positive start and a drop around noon, the Switzerland market emerged higher in early afternoon on Wednesday but fell again before paring losses and eventually ending the day's session slightly weak. Hotter than expected U.S. consumer price inflation data raised concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for a longer period rendered the mood cautious. The benchmark SMI ended with a marginal loss of 10.83 points or 0.09% at 11,495.21. The index, which advanced to 11,tt9.63 at the start, touched a low of 11,404.39 in the session. UBS Group shares drifted down 2.73%. Geberit and Lonza Group ended lower by 2.04% and 1.76%, respectively. Kuehne & Nagel, Sonova and Sika lost 0.6 to 0.8%. Givaudan gained about 1.4%. Roche Holding climbed 1.17% after it received CE Mark approval for the VENTANA HER2 (4B5) Rabbit Monoclonal Primary Antibody RxDx. ABB ended 1.12% up. Zurich Insurance Group, Partners Group and Swiss Re gained 0.91%, 0.55% and 0.42%, respectively. Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech ended 4.29% down. ams OSRAM AG and Tecan Group dropped by 2.85% and 2.3%, respectively. Sandoz, Julius Baer, Straumann Holding, Swiss Prime Site, BKW, PSP Swiss Property and Temenos Group lost 1 to 2%.

After holding firm till around late afternoon, European stocks came off higher levels on Wednesday after data from the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer prices advanced by slightly more than expected in the month of March. Still, most of the markets in Europe managed to end the day's session on a positive note with investors looking ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement on Thursday. The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.15%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.33% and Germany's DAX ended 0.11% up, while France's CAC 40 and Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.05% and 0.09%, respectively. Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Austria, Belgium, Finland and Spain ended weak. Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer prices advanced by slightly more than expected in the month of March, climbing by 0.4%, matching the increase seen in February. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3%. The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 3.5% in March from 3.2% in February. Economists had expected a more modest acceleration to 3.4%. In the UK market, Tesco rallied 3.3%. The supermarket group forecast a further increase in profit in its new financial year after posting an 11% jump in profit in 2023/24. HSBC Holdings gained about 3%. JD Sports Fashion, RS Group, Next, Burberry Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Croda International, 3i, Royal Dutch Shell, Admiral Group, Weir Holdings, Beazley, Standard Chartered and Spirax-Sarco Engineering gained 1 to 2%. Ocado Group drifted down more than 3%. Barratt Developments, Anglo American Plc, St. James's Place, United Utilities, Experian, Taylor Wimpey, Segro, Convetec Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BT, National Grid and Glencore lost 1 to 2%.In the German market, Rheinmetall, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Commerzbank, Continental, Munich RE, Daimler Truck Holding and Hannover Rueck climbed 1 to 2.5%. Sartorius, Merck, BMW, MTU Aero Engines, RWE and Vonovia drifted lower.

A fresh inflation shock drove major stock indexes lower Wednesday, heightening investors’ worries that the Federal Reserve won’t cut interest rates anytime soon. Stocks dropped broadly, with 10 of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors falling and the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 400 points. Shares of smaller companies, banks and real-estate firms slid. Wednesday’s moves came after data showed the consumer-price index rose more than Wall Street expected on both a monthly and annual basis. So-called core prices, which exclude the volatile categories of food and energy, also topped investors’ estimates. The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, paring its 2024 advance to 8.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%. The Dow industrials retreated 1.1%, or about 422 points. Home Depot fell 3%, UnitedHealth lost 2.1% and Microsoft declined 0.7%. Shares of smaller companies fell even more, hit by the prospect of higher borrowing costs. The Russell 2000 slumped 2.5%, its worst day since Feb. 13, when January’s CPI reading also topped Wall Street’s expectations. Bank stocks also took a blow, with the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index dropping 5%. Banks have struggled under the weight of higher interest rates, particularly small and midsize lenders. Within the S&P 500, the real-estate sector tumbled 4.1% in its worst day since June 2022. Public Storage and American Tower shares retreated 6% and 5.6%, respectively. Investors often turn to real-estate stocks for their hefty dividend payments, but rising rates make those dividends less enticing. Higher borrowing costs can also hurt earnings for the group, said James Ragan, director of wealth management research at D.A. Davidson.

Following surprisingly high inflation data from the USA, the majority of stock markets in East Asia and Australia fell on Thursday. In China, on the other hand, inflation data was weaker than expected. Consumer prices for March rose by just 0.1 per cent compared to the previous year, while economists had expected an increase of 0.4 per cent.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which rises when bond prices fall, posted its biggest one-day climb in more than 18 months.

UBS raises Sulzer to CHF 110 (79) – Neutral
UBS downgrades Boss to Neutral (Buy)/57 (82) EUR – Trader
Dt. Bank lowers Haleon to 345 (350) p – Hold

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