Axel Springer SE (AXELF.PK) has decided to create a new corporate structure, with a goal to create a focused media company and separately held classifieds businesses. The transaction is expected to close in second quarter, 2025. The new structure foresees that Axel Springer's media businesses and the joint venture Ringier Axel Springer Poland will remain within Axel Springer. As a privately owned and operated media company, Axel Springer will be debt-free. The Stepstone Group, AVIV Group, finanzen.net, and Awin, will be held as separate joint venture companies with KKR and CPP Investments as majority shareholders, Axel Springer as minority co-shareholder, and with an economic participation by the grandchildren of Axel Springer.

The Switzerland stock market closed on a firm note on Thursday, tracking gains in global markets after the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 points. The U.S. central bank also signaled more reductions in coming months. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 76 points or 0.63% at 12,058.30. The index once again moved in a very narrow range, scaling a low of 12,034.39 and a high of 12,122.87 in the session. VAT Group, Sika and Partners Group climbed 3.32%, 3.14% and 3.6%, respectively. SIG Group gained 2.79% and Swatch Group ended 2.54% up. Swatch Group, Straumann Holding, Holcim, ABB and Geberit gained 2 to 2.2%. Alcon, Julius Baer, UBS Group, Lonza Group and Logitech International ended higher by 1.2 to 1.8%, while Swiss Life Holding advanced nearly 1%. Swisscom, SGS, Kuehne + Nagel and Sandoz Group closed weak. The Swiss economy is set to expand considerably below its average this year and inflation is projected to continue to ease, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said today. The Federal Government Expert Group on Business Cycles forecast the economy to grow 1.2% this year, which was unchanged from the previous outlook. This was below-average growth seen in 2023. As global economic conditions improve gradually, economic growth is likely to strengthen next year on exports and investments, SECO said. GDP growth is seen at 1.6% in 2025 compared to the prior forecast of 1.7%.

European stocks closed on a strong note on Thursday with investors cheering the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points and its forecast for more reductions in future. Investors also digested the Bank of England's widely anticipated move to hold interest rates unchanged. The BoE signaled a gradual approach to monetary easing in coming decisions. The central bank also extended its bond reduction plan for another one year. BoE's Monetary Policy Committee headed by Andrew Bailey voted by a majority of 8-1 to hold the Bank Rate at 5%. At the August meeting, the MPC had voted in a tight 5-4 vote to cut the rate by a quarter point from a 16-year high of 5.25%. Today, the MPC unanimously voted to reduce the stock of UK government bond purchases by GBP 100 billion over the next twelve months, to a total of GBP 558 billion. Shares of energy firms and miners moved higher on strong commodity prices. Automakers shares moved higher despite Europe's new car registrations posting a steep decline in August. The pan European Stoxx 600 closed with a gain of 1.38%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.91%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.55% and France's CAC 40 ended up 2.29%, while Switzerland's SMI gained 0.63%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Portugal ended weak, while Poland closed flat. In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings rallied nearly 6%. Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Ashtead Group, JD Sports Fashion and Spirax Group gained 4 to 4.6%. Weir Group, Anglo American Plc, IMI, Pershing Square Holdings, Easyjet, Rio Tinto, Burberry Group, Prudential, Scottish Mortgage, Halma, Diageo, 3i Group, Sage Group and Hikma Pharmaceuticals gained 2.5 to 4%. Melrose Industries, Natwest Group, BP, HSBC Holdings, Entain, Smiths Group, RightMove and Frasers Group also ended sharply higher. Next moved higher after raising its annual profit forecast. Online grocer Ocado soared 2.7% after upgrading its revenue guidance.

After ending Wednesday's session moderately lower following late-day volatility, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs. The major averages pulled back off their best levels late in the trading session but remained firmly positive. The Dow jumped 522.09 points or 1.3 percent to 42,025.19, the Nasdaq soared 440.68 points or 2.5 percent to 18,013.96 and the S&P 500 surged 95.38 points or 1.7 percent to 5,713.64. The rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to slash interest rates by half a percentage point. With the Fed saying officials have gained greater confidence inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2 percent target, the central bank lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75 to 5.00 percent. Adding to the optimism about the economy, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a nearly four-month low in the week ended September 14th. The report said initial jobless claims slid to 219,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 231,000. Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring by 4.3 percent. Substantial strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index ended the day at its best closing level in over a month. Networking stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 3.1 percent to a record closing high. Banking, oil service, and housing stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The buying mood on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia, fuelled by the interest rate cut cycle that has now also been initiated in the USA, continued on Friday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index even improved by 2.0 per cent to 37,899 points ahead of an extended weekend, having already risen by a similar amount the day before.

In the U.S. bond market, treasuries extended the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.5 basis points to 3.740 percent.

BoA raises IAG to 2.40 (2.30) GBP/Buy – Trader
UBS raises Biontech to 131 (97) USD/Neutral – Trader
HSBC raises Iberdrola to 14.70 (13.60) EUR/Buy – Trader

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