Chip giant Qualcomm (-2.9%) made a takeover approach to rival Intel (+3.3%) in recent days, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the largest and most consequential deals in recent years. A deal for Intel, which has a market value of roughly $90 billion, would come as the chip maker has been suffering through one of the most significant crises in its five-decade history. A deal is far from certain, the people cautioned. Even if Intel is receptive, a deal of that size is all but certain to attract antitrust scrutiny, though it is also possible it could be seen as an opportunity to strengthen the U.S.’s competitive edge in chips. To get the deal done, Qualcomm could intend to sell assets or parts of Intel to other buyers. Intel - once the world’s most valuable chip company - had seen its shares drop roughly 60% so far this year before The Wall Street Journal reported on the approach. As recently as 2020, the company had a market value above $290 billion. Shares in Qualcomm, which has a market value of around $185 billion, closed down 2.9%. Its shares had been up around 17% so far this year prior to Friday. Qualcomm is a leading supplier of chips for smartphones, including ones that manage communications between phones and cell towers. It is one of the most critical suppliers for Apple’s iPhones, among a range of other devices. Given Intel’s market value, a successful takeover of the entire company would rank as the all-time largest technology M&A deal, topping Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The Swiss stock market ended trading on Friday with clear share price slides. The SMI lost 1.0 per cent to 11,934 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 losers and five gainers. A total of 52.49 (previously: 18.04) million shares were traded. Swisscom was the day's winner with gains of 0.9 per cent. Kühne & Nagel, however, was sold off. The share dropped a hefty 4.4 per cent. Sika (-2.6 per cent) and Lonza (-1.8 per cent) also declined significantly. The shares of index heavyweight Nestlé likewise slipped considerably by 3.9 per cent. Among the pharmaceutical giants, Roche rose by 0.6 per cent and Novartis climbed by 0.6 per cent. Richemont ended the day with a drop of 3.0 per cent. Some analysts had lowered their price targets for the shares, including Jefferies and Goldman Sachs. Analysts are particularly concerned about the weak economic development in China. The Swatch share (-3.2 per cent) was downgraded to ‘underperform’ by Jefferies.

On Friday, the European stock markets erased some of the previous day's gains, while gold climbed to a new all-time high in the wake of the Federal Reserve's rate cut. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 1.4% to 514.3 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each shed 1.5%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt shaved 1.5% off its value, while the FTSE 100 in London slipped 1.2%. European stocks linked to the automotive sector plummeted following a profit warning from German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz (down 6.8% in Frankfurt), which cited the worsening economic situation, particularly in China. In the wake of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen dropped by 3.3%, 5.5% and 3.4% respectively. In Paris, Forvia tumbled by 8%, OPmobility by 5.9% and Valeo by 4.5%; Stellantis fell by 3.4% and Renault by 2.6%. The energy industry engineering group Technip Energies (-1%) reported that its joint venture KTJV had won the contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility for the Lake Charles site in Louisiana. Technip Energies did not specify the total amount or its share of the contract, but described it as ‘major’, meaning that it ‘exceeds one billion euros’.

After Thursday’s Fed-fuelled exuberance, markets sobered up a bit. U.S. stock indexes wobbled Friday but notched gains for the week. The S&P 500 and Dow industrials both closed at record highs Thursday, a delayed response to the Federal Reserve’s jumbo rate cut. With stocks near all-time highs, equity investors appear to be pricing in a soft landing for the economy. Moves in major indexes were muted on Friday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down less than 0.5%, while the Dow industrials edged slightly higher. Intel shares jumped after The Wall Street Journal reported that Qualcomm approached the chipmaker about a takeover. Nike and FedEx were among the biggest movers. A CEO switch lifted Nike, while FedEx tumbled on an outlook cut. Novo Nordisk’s American depositary receipts tumbled. The drugmaker reported mixed results from a study of an experimental weight-loss pill. Energy producer Constellation Energy (+22%) confirmed that it would restart nuclear power generation at the Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania, the scene of the worst nuclear accident in US history, by 2028. The publisher of Donald Trump's social network, Trump Media & Technology Group (-7.8%) fell to its lowest level since its flotation. Furniture manufacturer MillerKnoll plunged 14% after reporting lower-than-expected revenues and modest forecasts for the current quarter. Bitcoin slipped after settling Thursday at the highest in a month.

In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains at the start of the new week. The Chinese stock markets are benefiting from an interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank: the People's Bank of China has lowered the interest rate for 14-day reverse repo transactions to 1.85 per cent from 1.95 per cent, following a reduction of the interest rate for 7-day repo transactions in July. Meanwhile, there will be no trading in Tokyo on Monday due to the public holiday at the beginning of autumn. In Shanghai, the Composite Index rises by 0.7 per cent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advances by 0.6 per cent. In Hong Kong, China Aoyuan jumped 109 per cent after the Middle Eastern investment company Multi Gold acquired a 16.48 per cent stake and became the property developer's largest shareholder. Otherwise, technology stocks lead the list of winners. Xiaomi rose by 3.9 per cent and Lenovo by 3.2 per cent. In Seoul, index heavyweight Samsung Electronics (-0.5 per cent) is holding back the Kospi, which is up 0.2 per cent. According to a media report, Samsung and Taiwan-based TSMC (unchanged in Taiwan) are considering the construction of mega-factories in the United Arab Emirates.

Long-term yields on U.S. government debt finished little changed on Friday, but remained near two-week highs following better news on the U.S. economy from the previous session.Having risen at the start of the session, the 2-year Treasury note yield finally gave up one basis point to 3.585%. The 10-year Treasury note yield, which is more closely linked to growth prospects, gained one basis point to 3.729%.

Goldman downgrades Richemont to 132 (150) CHF/Buy - Trader
Baader lowers Schweiter to CHF 421 (557) - Add
Jefferies cuts Swatch to Underperform (Hold)/120 (170) CHF - Trader

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