PepsiCo (+1.9%) cut its guidance for the year after sales unexpectedly declined in the summer quarter. The drink and snacks maker blamed subdued consumer demand in North America and ongoing pressure from recalls in the Quaker Foods North America division, while geopolitical tensions disrupted some international markets. PepsiCo now expects full-year organic revenue to grow in the low-single-digit percentage range, it said Tuesday, instead of rising 4% as previously projected. Shares inched higher in morning trading. As of Monday's close, the stock was down slightly this year, while Coca-Cola’s shares were up 17%. Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta said that cost controls bolstered profitability while sales sagged. PepsiCo’s quarter ended Sept. 7, by the numbers: Sales edged down to $23.32 billion. Analysts had expected a small gain to $23.86 billion, according to FactSet. Quarterly profit decreased to $2.93 billion from $3.09 billion a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were $2.31 a share, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts. Volumes in North America fell 17% at Quaker Food, 2% in its Frito-Lay unit and 3.5% in beverages. Higher prices helped offset weak volumes for some products, particularly overseas.

The Swiss stock market completely recouped its initial substantial losses on Tuesday. The SMI stagnated at 12,011 points for the day. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 13 price gainers and seven price losers. A total of 16.31 (previously: 16.59) million shares were traded. In the luxury segment, Richemont was clearly weaker than the overall market with a loss of 2.6 per cent, while Swatch fell 5.4 per cent outside the SMI. However, both stocks had been in demand the previous day. During a press conference, the National Reform and Development Commission in China did not announce any further measures to support the economy. In addition, China is now planning to impose tariffs on luxury goods and spirits from the EU after all. China is an important market for both companies. Hurricane Milton in the USA was downgraded to level 4 from 5, which benefited insurance stocks across Europe: Swiss Re rose by 0.1 per cent and Zurich Insurance by 0.2 per cent. Both stocks staged a significant recovery over the course of the day. Partners Group acquired a property portfolio in Italy for 260 million euros, the share price rose very slightly. Holcim (+0.6%) purchased OX Engineered Products in the USA, a leading supplier of insulation systems. ABB (+0.8%) is cooperating with Zumtobel on intelligent building solutions. Among small caps, Docmorris (+3.2%) was fueled by takeover speculation. Investors in VAT (+0.1%) easily shrugged off a sales warning due to technical problems.

European stocks fell sharply Tuesday, with luxury goods and drinks companies among the biggest decliners, as investors expressed disappointment at the lack of detail on China's stimulus plans and weighed news that the country will impose provisional antidumping tariffs on European brandy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index shed 0.6% to 516.6 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.7% each, penalized by luxury goods and alcohol stocks. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell by 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in London gave up 1.4%. The stocks most exposed to China, namely luxury goods and spirits, were under pressure on Tuesday. Luxury groups Kering and LVMH dropped by 4.5% and 3.6% respectively in Paris, while Burberry slipped by 4.4% in London. In Milan, Moncler declined by 1.4% and Salvatore Ferragamo by 2%. Spirits producers Rémy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard slumped by 6.4% and 4.2% respectively in Paris. Logistics company Argan (-3.1%) announced on Tuesday that it had finalized its disposal programme for 2024 after selling a data center in Wissous, France, to US property manager Invesco Real Estate. Saint-Gobain (+0.4%) has signed a contract with TotalEnergies (-2%) for the purchase of renewable electricity to power the group's industrial sites in France. Dassault Aviation (-0.2%) reported on Tuesday that it had launched a program to develop the combat drone designed to complement the future F5 version of the Rafale aircraft.

Tech stocks are back in business. Gains by the technology sector pushed the S&P 500 higher Tuesday, while all the big tech stocks in the Magnificent Seven advanced. Major stock indexes rallied. The S&P 500 rose 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, or about 126 points. In recent months, a broad range of stocks, including groups like utilities, real estate and industrials, have driven the market. Most sectors climbed Tuesday as investors looked past concerns about rising oil prices and the approaching U.S. elections. Investors are preparing for the next earnings season to kick off in earnest Friday when JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and BlackRock give results. They are also looking ahead to the next big read on consumer inflation Thursday. Many investors have grown more confident that the Federal Reserve is succeeding in taming price pressures without driving the economy into a recession. Among individual stocks, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Donald Trump’s Truth Social, rose 19% and is now up 32% for the week. A selloff in commodities like copper hit shares of Freeport-McMoRan and Alcoa, which fell 4.3% and 4.4%, respectively. Super Micro Computer shares dropped 5% after a big rally on Monday.

Asian indexes diverged on Wednesday. There is no trading on the South Korean stock exchange due to a public holiday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index rose by 0.8 per cent to 39,245 points. In the technology segment, Advantest rose by 3.7 per cent and Tokyo Electron by 1.9 per cent. Seven & I Holdings increased by 4.9 per cent but had previously been higher. According to media reports, Canada's Couche-Tard has upped its bid for the operator of the 7-Eleven chain. In Hong Kong, after the recent rally, the HSI slumped by a further 1.4 per cent after falling by 9.4 per cent the previous day. Property stocks in particular remain under selling pressure. Longfor slipped by 5.4 per cent, China Vanke by 7.0 per cent and China Resources by 2.3 per cent. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite dropped 5.3 per cent.

On Tuesday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield fell by one basis point to 4.021%, having edged up in recent days. The 2-year Treasury note yield declined by 3 basis points to 3.973%.

Goldman Sachs raises UBS target to 38.70 (37.10) CHF/Buy - Traders
Jefferies lowers Sika target to CHF 315 (317) - Buy
Target price Geberit: Goldman Sachs lifts target to CHF 580 (571) – Neutral

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