Apple shares added less than 0.1% after the tech giant introduced the iPhone 16, with upgraded Siri, AI text editing and photo-recognition tools. The new tools—called “Apple Intelligence”—include an improved Siri voice assistant and a variety of text-generation and photo-editing capabilities, and they will be compatible with the new iPhone 16 and the iPhone 15 Pro. The new iPhone line has a chip that Apple executives say will help power the new AI features, and Apple says it is faster than competing devices and even some high-end desktop PCs. The iPhone 16 has limited new hardware features outside of new camera capabilities and a new button that will let users slide their fingers to adjust features. A beta, or early version, of some of the Apple Intelligence features will be available next month. While it will only be available in English for now, Apple said next year it would be ready for Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish. The company unveiled a new design for the latest iteration for its smartwatch, Apple Watch Series 10, which is thinner than previous versions, offers a bigger display and can alert users who may have sleep apnea. New capabilities for swimmers help gauge water depth and temperature as well. The new watch will cost $399 or higher and will be available on Sept. 20. Apple announced that an upgrade to its AirPods Pro 2 can make them capable of acting as an over-the-counter hearing aid, and the company said it would offer hearing tests based on findings in scientific research. The baseline model was also updated, and the AirPods 4 cost $129. With Apple Intelligence, Apple is also joining up with AI startup OpenAI—which is helmed by Chief Executive Sam Altman —to embed ChatGPT, which it sees as the current leader in generative artificial intelligence. The iPhone maker plans to join up with other AI developers. Apple is currently in talks to invest in OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. The company has yet to announce an AI partner in China, one of its largest markets and an area where sales have stagnated as it faced new competition from homegrown smartphone brands.

After Friday's dip in the wake of recession worries emanating from the USA, the Zurich stock exchange rebounded on Monday. The SMI gained 0.6 per cent to 11,981 points. The fact that the index gain was not more pronounced was due to heavyweight Roche. Its share price had suddenly plummeted at lunchtime. At the end of the day, the index was down 2.6 per cent. There was speculation in trading that the reaction could be linked to the results of a study on a slimming drug, the effectiveness of which was presented at a congress and was apparently not entirely convincing. There were 19 price gainers in the SMI, making Roche the only loser. A total of 16.18 million shares were traded (Friday: 21.67 million). The day's winners in the SMI without any new news were Alcon with a performance of 3.5 per cent. Swiss Re was in the midfield with a gain of 0.9 per cent. Following the annual industry meeting in Monte Carlo, the reinsurer spoke of higher demand, but also emphasised the continued strong rise in so-called social inflation. It had become the main driver of growth in US liability claims. Nestlé (+0.6%) also performed in the midfield. Among smaller caps, Baloise rose by around 2.5 per cent. The Swedish investor Cevian Capital increased its stake in the insurer to 9.4 per cent from 3.1 per cent and is now the largest single shareholder.

The European stock markets closed higher on Monday having fallen sharply over the past week. Investors are wondering about the next decisions to be taken by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in response to the economic slowdown. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.8% to 510.7 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 both rose by 1%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt climbed 0.8% and the FTSE 100 in London added 1.1%. Video games publisher Ubisoft fell by 7.1% on Monday. The industrial laundry group Elis continued its decline (-4.8%), as the company struggled to reassure investors about the consequences for its balance sheet of a possible takeover of the American group Vestis, a specialist in the rental of uniforms and accessories to companies. Luxury retailer Kering fell by 2.5% to €230.3 after Barclays on Monday downgraded its recommendation on the stock from ‘neutral weight’ to ‘underweight’ and reduced its target price from €276 to €210. LVMH (+0.7%) announced on Monday the appointment with immediate effect of Sarah Burton as artistic director of its Givenchy fashion and fragrance house. Sarah Burton was previously creative director of Kering-owned Alexander McQueen.

U.S. stocks rallied Monday, recouping some of last week’s losses as investors looked ahead to fresh inflation data. The advance was broad-based, with all 11 of the S&P 500’s sectors gaining ground. That lifted the broad U.S. stock index to a 1.2% gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2%, or about 484 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also gained 1.2%. Investors are focused on any data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest-rate cuts. The headline release this week will be consumer inflation data on Wednesday, with producer-price numbers following on Thursday. Palantir Technologies shares rose 14% and Dell Technologies shares added 3.8% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Friday that the stocks would join the S&P 500. Biotech company Summit Therapeutics (+56%) announced on Sunday that its cancer drug candidate ivonescimab was more effective than Merck's keytruda (-4.7%) in a late-stage trial in lung cancer patients. Aerospace group Boeing (+3.4%) and the sector's main union reached an agreement on Sunday to avoid a strike this week, but the deal, which provides for a 25% pay rise over four years, still has to be approved by a majority of employees. Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, discussed a deal under which it would get a share of Tesla's revenues (+2.6%) in exchange for giving Tesla access to its technology and resources. Nvidia recovered 3.5%, having fallen 4.1% on Friday.

Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday. The stock exchanges on the Chinese mainland were an exception. The fact that the USA is restricting access to the US market for Chinese biotech companies by law negatively impacted the stock markets there. In Shanghai, the Composite Index lost 0.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index is up 0.3 per cent, supported by Alibaba shares. With a gain of 4.7 per cent, the stock benefited from its inclusion in the ‘Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect’ programme. This programme enables mutual market access so that investors on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong can trade and settle shares listed on the respective stock exchanges and clearing houses of their home markets. In the biotech sector, Wuxi Apptec shares fell by 8.3 per cent in Hong Kong. Wuxi Biologics dropped by 3.9 per cent. On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei 225 index gains 0.1 per cent to 36,254 points. Meanwhile, South Korea's leading index, the Kospi, lost 0.3 per cent. Investors sell off battery and electronics stocks. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined by 1.9 per cent. LG Energy Solution's share price sank by 4 per cent. Apple supplier LG Innotek's share price plummeted by almost 7 per cent after the iPhone manufacturer's product presentation on Monday. LG Display shed 3.3 per cent.

Yields on U.S. government debt were slightly higher Monday morning, but near their lowest levels in one to two years, as investors weighed how the next major inflation report may impact the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates. The 10-year Treasury note yield remained stable at 3.706%. The 2-year Treasury note yield gained 3 basis points to 3.679%.

Price target Interroll: UBS downgrades to CHF 2280 (2350) - Sell
Target price Belimo: Berenberg lifts to CHF 614 (557) - Buy
Rating Lem: UBS starts with Buy - Target 1600 CHF

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