Ophthalmic consumables and ocular implants giant Alcon continued to grow between January and the end of March. However, the pace was slower than the 10% growth at constant exchange rates posted in the final quarter of 2023. Revenues rose by 5% (7% at constant exchange rates) year-on-year in local currencies to USD 2.4 billion (around CHF 2.1 billion at today's exchange rate). The Geneva-based multinational also improved its profitability, with an operating margin of 22.0%, compared with 20.6% in the first quarter of 2023. Earnings per share rose by 15 cents to $0.50, according to an overnight report on Monday. The group's operating profit came to 368 (269) million dollars and net profit rose to 248 (174) million dollars. The Surgical division posted quarterly sales of 1.34 (1.30) billion dollars. Implants accounted for $433 (427) million, consumables for $686 (656) million and equipment/other for $219 (221) million. Vision Care achieved total sales of 1.11 (1.03) billion dollars, with 671 (615) million for contact lenses and 35 (414) million for eye care. Management has slightly raised its sales projections for the full year.

The Swiss stock market did not see any significant developments on Monday. The SMI gained 0.1 per cent to 11,768 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were ten losers and ten gainers. A total of 23.39 (previously: 24.52) million shares were traded. Corporate news was scarce. In the luxury goods sector, Richemont fell by 0.6 per cent and Swatch dropped by 1.8 per cent outside the SMI. However, Swatch was traded ex-dividend and would have closed higher without the dividend deduction. The shares of industrial goods group ABB rose by 1.4 per cent following a price target increase by Jefferies. According to a report, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti is likely to remain in office until at least the beginning of 2027 prompting the share price to increase by 0.6 per cent. Lonza and Holcim were at the bottom of the index, with both shares trading ex-dividend. However, the share prices lost more than the dividend discount in each case.

European shares traded mostly lower on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data later in the week. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended virtually flat at 520.9 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each lost 0.1%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt shed 0.2%, as did the FTSE 100 in London. Elior (+5.8% to €2.89) was the biggest riser within the SBF 120. Elior will publish its half-yearly results on Thursday. Air France-KLM (+4%) announced the launch of an offer to repurchase two existing bond issues for a total of €1.25 billion and its intention to issue new bonds for an undisclosed amount. Biotech company Valneva (+2.6%) released further positive results from a phase 3 trial regarding the safety and immunogenicity of Ixchiq, its vaccine against the chikungunya virus, in adolescents. Pharmaceuticals group Sanofi (+2.4%) confirmed that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would review by mid-September its application for approval of Dupixent for the treatment of uncontrolled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in adolescents

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, snapping its longest winning streak of the year, as markets braced for fresh inflation data in the coming days. The blue-chip index lost 0.2%, or about 81 points, falling after eight sessions of gains, while the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%. Investors are hoping new data this week will show inflation easing after several months of firmer-than-expected readings. Lingering price pressures have kept the Federal Reserve from beginning to cut interest rates, a move that tends to boost stock prices. Traders and money managers will get their next look at how inflation is faring with the release of the producer-price index on Tuesday, followed by the highly anticipated consumer-price index on Wednesday. Nine of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors ticked lower Monday. The technology group bucked the trend, rising 0.5% with the help of gains by Apple and Nvidia. The real-estate segment added 0.3%. The S&P 500 has advanced 3.7% in May and 9.5% so far this year. The rally has stocks looking increasingly expensive. The S&P 500 traded late last week at 20.6 times its projected earnings over the next 12 months, above a 10-year average of 18.1, according to FactSet. On Monday, meme-stock mania reared its head again. A social-media account associated with Keith Gill, the investor known as “Roaring Kitty,” sent its first post since 2021, when he focused online followers on the retailer GameStop. GameStop shares soared 74% Monday, their largest percentage increase since February 2021, and were halted for volatility several times. Shares of AMC Entertainment, another meme-stock favorite, jumped 78%, while Hertz Global rose 12% and Plug Power gained 13%.

Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Tuesday. The Nikkei-225 in Tokyo is trading 0.2 per cent lower at 38,256 points. Suzuki Motor rose by 6.6 per cent after the car manufacturer's net profit increased by 21 per cent. Suntory Beverage & Food also increased significantly by 6.8 per cent, supported by good first-quarter figures with a 39 per cent rise in net profit. Eneos Holdings advanced by 11.1 per cent after the presentation of its figures. In Hong Kong, the HSI barely moved, nor did the Shanghai Composite on the Chinese mainland. ESR Group's share price jumped by around 20 per cent after the property fund manager received a privatisation offer from a group of investors. In Seoul, the shares of food company CJ ChilJedang dropped 5.1 per cent following the presentation of quarterly figures.

U.S. government debt yields were slightly lower Monday amid a lack of market-moving catalysts ahead of the next major inflation update being released later in the week. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell by one basis point to 4.489%. The 2-year Treasury yield note remained close to equilibrium at 4.870%.

Target price Holcim: Julius Baer upgrades to CHF 90 (85) - Buy
Target price Oerlikon: UBS raises to CHF 4.50 (4.10) - Neutral
Target price Ems-Chemie: Julius Baer upgrades to CHF 800 (690) - Hold

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