Netflix showed that its password-sharing crackdown continues to bear fruit, delivering its strongest first-quarter customer additions since the pandemic and further strengthening its position as the dominant global streamer. The company added 9.33 million subscribers in the first quarter, more than five times the number of customers it added during the same period a year earlier, with its efforts to limit password sharing continuing to bear fruit. Netflix began limiting password sharing in earnest about a year ago. Netflix ended the first quarter with 269.6 million paying customers globally and said it now has an audience of more than a half billion people. It delivered a stream of hit original TV shows early in the year, including science fiction epic “3 Body Problem,” the latest season of reality series “Love is Blind,” and TV drama “Griselda,” as well as films like “Damsel” and lighter fare including “Irish Wish”. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $9.37 billion, up almost 15% from $8.16 billion a year earlier and ahead of its own projections for the period. Net profit rose nearly 80% to $2.33 billion in the quarter, beating the company’s forecast of nearly $2 billion. Despite the strong first-quarter results, shares of Netflix fell 4.8% in after-hours trading. The company gave a softer-than-expected revenue outlook for the current quarter, and the stock had risen more than 25% this year ahead of the earnings report.

The SMI lost 1 point to 11,230 points on Thursday. The trading range for the day was between 11,174 and 11,281 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 14 losers and 6 gainers. A total of 22.90 (previously: 18.54) million shares were traded. ABB's interim report (+6.3%) was well received. Profit from operating activities rose more strongly than expected, and the bottom-line decline in profit was significantly less than forecast. Despite a slight decrease, order intake was also better than the company had expected. ABB has now raised its forecast for the operating margin slightly. Schindler shares rose by 1.6 per cent following the results for the first quarter. At the other end of the price spectrum were the shares of Partners Group, shedding 3.3 per cent. Richemont also lost 2.5 per cent and Swatch shares 0.6 per cent. Givaudan shares rose by 0.6 per cent. Komax, on the other hand, slumped by 6.9 per cent to 160.80 francs.

The European stock markets closed on a positive note on Thursday, as investors shrugged off a deluge of corporate releases, while continuing to wonder about the date on which the Federal Reserve (Fed) will make its first rate cut. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 499.7 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 were both up 0.5%. The DAX 40 climbed 0.4% in Frankfurt, as did the FTSE 100 in London. Pharmaceuticals supplier Sartorius Stedim Biotech (-15.7%) reported worse-than-expected first-quarter results, mainly due to weak demand from China. Automotive equipment supplier Forvia (+7.9%) confirmed its financial targets for 2024 and reported better-than-expected organic growth in the first quarter. Workplace payment solutions specialist Edenred (+4.9%) confirmed its targets for 2024 after posting organic growth of 20.5% in the first quarter, ahead of analysts' expectations. Gambling operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) (-4%) announced that it was "in line" with its targets for this year. UBS has raised its recommendation for the quality control and certification group Bureau Veritas (+1.9%) from "sell" to "neutral" and raised its target price from €24 to €29. British airline easyJet (up 2.3% in London) expects to reduce its adjusted pre-tax loss in the first half of the year, thanks to sustained demand for summer flight bookings.

Bond yields rose and stocks mostly slumped Thursday as investors continued to adjust to the idea that interest rates may not come down this year. The S&P 500 lost 0.2%, its fifth straight daily decline. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. Both have shed nearly 5% so far in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained less than 0.1%, or 22 points. The blue-chip index’s 5.1% fall this month has wiped out nearly all of its 2024 advance. Stocks started the day higher following a flurry of corporate earnings reports and economic data that showed continued strength in the labor market and rising business activity. Major stock indexes retreated in afternoon trading. Stocks have sold off since last week when inflation data came in hotter than expected. The consumer price data suggested that the rate of inflation isn’t as close to the Federal Reserve’s targeted 2% as many investors believed it would be when they began in autumn to bid up stocks in anticipation of interest-rate cuts this year. The prospect of higher rates for longer has boosted the opportunity cost of owning risky assets, such as technology stocks, and dimmed the prospects of shares for rate-sensitive sectors such as real-estate companies, which have become this year’s laggards. The S&P 500 remains roughly 20% higher than it was in late October when benchmark Treasury yields peaked just above 5%. The question now is how much stocks should come down if their rise was based on lower rates this year. Quarterly results drove big moves in individual stocks Thursday. Genuine Parts paced the S&P 500, rising 11% after the NAPA Auto Parts owner reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ expectations and boosted its 2024 profit outlook. Alaska Air shares rose 4% after the company reported a smaller loss than analysts had feared following the midair blowout of a door plug and subsequent grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9. Credit reporting firm Equifax and toolmaker Snap-On were among the S&P 500’s biggest losers, dropping 8.5% and 7.7%, respectively, after quarterly results disappointed investors. Meta Platforms (+1.5%) has stepped up its game in the battle of chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The Facebook group released "Llama 3", the latest version of its freely accessible chatbot.

Stock markets in Asia fell while safe-haven assets such as U.S. Treasurys, the yen and the Swiss franc rose sharply after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday. The Nikkei index in Tokyo dropped by 2.4 per cent to 37,180 points. In Seoul, the index declined by 1.8 per cent. The Chinese stock exchange slipped by 0.4 per cent and Hong Kong plunged by 1.2 per cent. Among the individual stocks, chip stocks are under heavy pressure in Tokyo. Tokyo Electron fell by over 7 per cent, Advantest dropped by 3.8 per cent and Renesas by 5.5 per cent. In Seoul, sector stocks such as Samsung Electronics declined by 1.87 per cent and SK Hynix by 3.1 per cent.

U.S. government debt yields rose and stocks mostly slumped Thursday as investors continued to adjust to the idea that interest rates may not come down this year. The 10-year Treasury note yield added 5 basis points to 4.635%. The 2-year Treasury note yield climbed 6 basis points to 4.99%.

Rating Givaudan: UBS upgrades to Neutral (Sell) - Target 3900 (3200) CHF
Rating Swisscom: Kepler resumes with Hold and target CHF 564
Price target DocMorris: Berenberg raises to CHF 125 (100) - Buy
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