Roche's cancer immunotherapy Tecentriq will be the first of its kind in the USA to be administered subcutaneously, i.e. under the skin. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the new dosage form, as Roche announced on Friday. According to Roche, this makes Tecentriq (atezolizumab) the first PD-(L)1 cancer immunotherapy in the USA that can be administered in this way. In Switzerland and the EU, Tecentriq is already authorised as a subcutaneous variant. Tecentriq can be used subcutaneously to treat various types of lung, liver and skin cancer. Previously, Tecentriq was administered to patients by infusion directly into the veins, which took around 30-60 minutes. The new subcutaneous injection reduces the treatment time to around seven minutes, with most injections taking between four and eight minutes, according to Roche.

The Swiss stock market rose on Thursday. The SMI gained 0.5 per cent to 11,982 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 18 price gainers and 2 price losers. A total of 18.31 million shares were traded (Wednesday: 18.39 million). As in the previous week, the SMI was held back by index heavyweight Roche, which saw its share price fall by 2.2 per cent. New data from an early clinical trial of the oral drug candidate for weight reduction raised questions among analysts as to how quickly Roche would be able to enter the booming market for anti-obesity drugs. Partners Group was by far the day's winner (+5.4%). This was driven by the news of a strategic partnership with the asset management company Blackrock. Swisscom lagged slightly behind with a gain of 0.2 per cent. Italy's competition authority has launched an in-depth investigation into Swisscom's USD 8.81 billion takeover of Vodafone Italia.

The European stock markets trimmed their gains slightly on Thursday, following the European Central Bank's (ECB) unsurprising monetary policy decision and the publication of a mixed producer price index in the United States. In Paris, the CAC 40 climbed 0.52% to 7,435.07 points at the close. The SBF 120 also gained 0.5% to 5,635.11 points. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.97% and the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.53%. As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its deposit rate by a quarter of a point (25 basis points) to 3.50%, as inflation in the eurozone moved closer to its medium-term target of 2%. On Thursday, the French Constitutional Council announced its decision to validate the new tax on the operation of long-distance transport infrastructures. On the Paris Bourse, Eiffage, Vinci, ADP and Bouygues shares fell by 3.3%, 1.6%, 1.4% and 1% respectively at the close. RBC Capital Markets began tracking the shares of aerospace group Safran on Thursday, with an ‘outperform’ recommendation and a target price of €240. On the Paris Bourse, Safran shares rose by 3.2% to 202.40 euros. Cable manufacturer Nexans (+2.1%) announced on Thursday that it was investing a total of 90 million euros in its Belgian plants at Charleroi and Erembodegem and in its Calais site in France, in order to support growth in offshore wind energy and submarine interconnections. Pharmaceuticals group Sanofi (-1.7%) announced on Thursday that it had signed a licensing agreement with RadioMedix and Orano Med to develop internal vectorised radiotherapy (IVR), a promising new therapeutic approach for certain forms of cancer. The CEO of Italian bank UniCredit (up 2.7% in Milan), Andrea Orcel, stated in an interview with Bloomberg TV that he was considering increasing his stake in its German rival Commerzbank (up 2.3% in Frankfurt), or even taking control of it.

U.S. stocks extend gains after the producer-price index rose 0.2% in August from July, matching expectations. The data add to Fed’s deliberations over whether to cut rates by 25 bps or 50 bps next week. All 11 S&P 500 sectors gain, led by communications services. DJIA rises 235 points, or 0.6%, to 41097, the S&P 500 gains 0.8% to 5595 and the Nasdaq climbs 1% to 17569. Warner Bros. Discovery shares jump 10% after the company renewed its distribution deal with Charter Communications ahead of schedule. Moderna fell by 12.4 per cent after a weak outlook. The share price of German competitor Biontech only initially declined in Moderna's wake, but then picked up and closed up 5.8 per cent. Microsoft (+0.9 per cent) also turned an early loss into a gain in the end. The software giant is laying off 650 employees from its video games division against the backdrop of a significant downsizing of the global games industry. Micron Technology dropped 3.8 per cent after Raymond James significantly lowered its price target for the semiconductor supplier's shares. Kroger's earnings turned positive in the quarter under review, narrowly beating the consensus estimate with adjusted earnings. The retailer's share price climbed by around 7.2 per cent.

Asian stocks were mixed Friday. The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.7 per cent to 36,570 points. On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Composite Index is down 0.1 per cent. Shares in insurers are in demand after the Chinese State Council issued guidelines to strengthen insurance supervision in order to minimise risks for the sector. China Life Insurance rose by 0.8 per cent and Ping An by 1 per cent. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index is up 1 per cent. Media reports that the Chinese government could cut mortgage rates next week in order to strengthen the property sector are supporting shares in the sector. Among others, Longfor Group climbed 4.4 per cent and China Vanke 2.1 per cent.

Yields on U.S. government debt ticked slightly higher on Thursday, but remained near some of the lowest levels of the year, after a $22 billion sale of 30-year bonds was met with below-average bidding from non-dealers. The 10-year Treasury note yield remained at around 3.68%, while the 2-year Treasury note yield settled at 3.66%. According to the CME's FedWatch tool, the majority of investors on Thursday were betting on a rate cut of at least 1 percentage point between now and the end of December, with a first cut of 0.25 percentage point expected at the next meeting in September.

PSP Swiss Property price target: Berenberg raises to CHF 132 (130) - Buy
Rating Hiag: Baader Helvea lifts to Buy (Add) - Target CHF 95 (88)
JPM upgrades Easyjet target to 660 (650) p/overweight - Trader
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