Boeing clinched a deal to buy Spirit AeroSystems, taking back a troubled fuselage maker that it split off two decades ago as the jet manufacturer grapples with production problems. Spirit has been at the center of quality issues affecting 737 MAX jets. Boeing has been negotiating a deal for months and its executives have said that they believe taking control of Spirit’s operations will improve the safety and quality of its manufacturing. In recent weeks, the two sides have discussed a deal that would have had Boeing paying more than $4 billion for roughly two-thirds of Spirit’s business. Boeing on Monday said it agreed to acquire Spirit for $37.25 a share in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.7 billion. As part of the deal, Spirit is expected to shed factories, including in Europe, that make parts for Boeing rival Airbus. Spirit, which makes 737 fuselages and other airframe components, was created when Boeing sold some of its factories in 2005 in a push to focus on final assembly. Last year, Spirit had about 20,000 workers and $6 billion in revenue, but it has been losing money. Boeing in April agreed to make $425 million in advance payments to cover costs tied to its quality-improvement efforts.

The Swiss stock market barely held its ground at the end of the week. The SMI lost 0.1 per cent to 11,994 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were eleven price gainers and nine price losers. A total of 17.98 (previously: 15.72) million shares were traded. No clear preference could be identified among investors on the last trading day of the first half of the year. Partners Group was in high demand. The share price rose by 1.5 per cent. Swisscom (+1.1%) and Lonza (+0.7%) also recorded significant gains. Among the pharmaceutical giants, Novartis climbed 0.8 per cent. Roche shares lagged with losses of 0.4 per cent. The shares of the third heavyweight, Nestle, shed 0.5 per cent. The day's underperformers were Givaudan, down 2.1 per cent, followed by Richemont (-1.2 per cent) and Geberit (-1.2 per cent).

Indexes mostly ended lower in Europe on Friday ahead of the first round of voting in the parliamentary election on Sunday, even though inflation eased encouragingly in the United States. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.2% to 511.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.7% each, a sign of investor nervousness two days ahead of the first round of French parliamentary elections. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 fell 0.2% in London. Over the week as a whole, the Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.7%. The reporting date marked the end of the first half of the year, with the DAX up around 9 per cent on the start of the year. This performance was driven by the first three months, with no further gains in the second quarter. The winner was Siemens Energy, whose share price doubled in the first six months. The heavyweight SAP increased by a good third and is therefore responsible for a good part of the index performance. Rheinmetall, up over 60 per cent, benefited from the war in Ukraine. In France, Renault climbed 1.1 per cent against the weak CAC 40 index. Airbus (-1.8 per cent) was sold off again. MTU, meanwhile, gained 2.4 per cent; its share price losses after the Airbus forecast cut were exaggerated, according to analysts. Puma fell by 2.6 per cent. Adidas gained 0.2 per cent as two analysts raised their price targets. In London, the shares of sporting goods retailer JD Sports lost 5.4 per cent. L'Oreal fell 3 per cent. Air France also dropped by 4.2 per cent. Nokia advanced by 1.5 per cent. The acquisition of network solutions provider Infinera was favourably assessed. The deal is categorised as "not expensive" and should have a rapid impact on profitability.

Nike shares tumbled to their worst day on record, dragging the Dow and S&P 500 to losses on Friday. It was a downbeat ending for an otherwise gangbusters first half for stocks. Despite declining 0.4%, the S&P 500 ended Friday within 27 points of a record high. The companies in the broad index have added nearly $6 trillion in market capitalisation so far this year, the largest first-half gain on record. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7% Friday but also remains near its all-time high. It was the only of the three big indexes to end the week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%, or 45 points. Nike, which reported an unexpected sales decline and issued a gloomy outlook Thursday after market hours, fell 20% in its biggest one-day decline on record. The shoemaker, which has lost ground in the critical running category, was the worst performer by a mile in both the Dow and the S&P 500. Drugstore chain Walgreens (-0.8%) stabilised after suffering a record single-day fall (-22%) on Thursday following the announcement of a reduction in its forecasts and a plan to close hundreds of pharmacies. Because of its lower valuation, the stock is also at risk of being dropped from the Nasdaq 100 index and could be replaced by server manufacturer Super Micro Computer (-1.4%), according to analysts. Accolade fell by 44%. The healthcare services company reported higher-than-expected losses in the last quarter. US optical networking specialist Infinera jumped 16% to $6.09 after reaching an agreement to be acquired by Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia for $2.3 billion. Nokia's offer of $6.65 per share represents a 28% premium to Infinera's closing price of $5.26 on Thursday.

Asian stocks were mixed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 stagnated at 39,576 points and while there was no trading in Hong Kong due to a public holiday, the Shanghai Composite rose by 0.3 per cent after initial losses. The market also turned positive in South Korea, with the Kospi rising by 0.1 per cent. Investors analyse trade data showing that exports rose for the ninth consecutive month in June due to strong demand for chips, although growth was slower compared to the same period last year. In Australia, the S&P/ASX-200 is down 0.5 per cent. Investors are waiting for this week's central bank meeting minutes and the UK elections, which are of particular importance to Australia.

Long-dated U.S. government debt yields finished at more than two-week highs on Friday amid a round of selling that may have been driven by traders moving to close out month- and quarter-end positions. Rates on 2-, 10- and 30-year Treasuries also ended the session with a second straight quarter of advances. The 10-year Treasury note yield gained 9 basis points on Friday, to 4.382%. The 2-year Treasury note yield added 3 basis points, to 4.737%. The personal-consumption expenditures price index rose 2.6% in May from a year earlier, in line with the expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The May reading was the lowest since 2021 and compares with a 2.7% rise in April.

Bank of America downgrades Adecco target to CHF 32 (33) - Underperform
Bank of America upgrades Givaudan to CHF 4,400 (4,000) - Neutral
Jefferies raises ABB to CHF 54 (53) - Hold

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