Salesforce’s light sales outlook and investor concerns about artificial-intelligence returns weighed on its shares, despite higher-than-expected revenue and profit in the second quarter. The customer-relationship management platform said Wednesday that it expects revenue in the current third quarter to be $10.24 billion to $10.29 billion, while Wall Street was looking for $10.29 billion. Adjusted earnings guidance was in line with estimates. Shares fell 5.6%, to $242.15, in after-hours trading. At the close, the stock was down 23% this year. Salesforce executives emphasized its focus on AI investments, primarily its Agentforce assistant that launched last October. More than 12,500 Agentforce deals have closed since its debut, with about 6,000 of those currently paid. In the second quarter, which ended July 31, data-cloud and AI annual recurring revenue was $1.2 billion. Salesforce also said it was increasing its share-buyback program by $20 billion, bringing the total to $50 billion. Revenue rose 10%, to $10.24 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $10.14 billion. Subscription and support sales rose 11%. Salesforce had a profit of $1.89 billion, or $1.96 a share, up from $1.43 billion, or $1.47 a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $2.91, ahead of the $2.78 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
Salesforce expects $41.1 billion to $41.3 billion in revenue for this fiscal year. Adjusted earnings per share are projected to be $11.33 to $11.37, compared with the $11.32 analysts are anticipating.

Wednesday, the SMI gained 0.9 percent to 12,200 points. Among the 21 SMI values, 13 price winners and eight losers were facing each other. 16.97 (previously: 18.8) million shares were traded. The SMI was led by the pharmaceutical heavyweight Roche advancing by 2.9 percent without any news. Novartis (+1.9%) were also in demand. The half-year figures of the insurer Swiss Life were received with disappointment. The stock dropped by 1.2 percent. Swiss Re and Zurich each declined by 0.7 percent. Partners Group recovered by 1.1 percent. The shares had come under pressure on Tuesday after the company's business figures had not entirely convinced. The performance of the US technology stocks also pulled Logitech (+1.7%) up. Meanwhile, encouraging economic data from China supported Richemont, improving by 1.7 percent. At Nestlé (-0.3%), on the other hand, the surprising dismissal of the CEO continued to weigh again.

Europe
European stock markets performed well on Wednesday thanks to a decline in rates on the bond market, but caution remains in a context of political and budgetary uncertainty. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.7%, to 546.8 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 appreciated by 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 added 0.5% while the FTSE 100 in London increased by 0.7%. DERICHEBOURG (-10.4%): the metal recycling specialist issued a profit warning regarding its 2024-2025 financial year, books closing end of September, citing the effects of the trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. The group now expects a current Ebitda of €300 to €310 million, instead of a previous estimate of €350 million. VALNEVA (+10.1%): the vaccine manufacturer presented on Wednesday positive study results concerning the use of a third booster dose of its experimental vaccine against Lyme disease, VLA15, developed in partnership with the American company Pfizer. VIRIDIEN (+6%): Bernstein on Wednesday raised his recommendation on the para-oil services group from "neutral" to "outperformance", with a price target of 94 euros compared to 61 euros previously.

United States
Tech stocks were back on top Wednesday, with shares of Google, Apple and Dell among those leading the market. Wednesday’s tech-dominated trading marked a reversal from the prior day, when a global bond selloff weighed on the equities market, boosting shares in safer sectors such as consumer staples and healthcare. Traders are bracing for more volatility in September, a historically poor month for stock-market returns. The Nasdaq Composite led gains on Wednesday, powered to a 1% gain by a jump in shares of Alphabet after the Google parent avoided harsh antitrust penalties. A U.S. judge allowed it to keep both its Chrome browser and its partnership with Apple. Alphabet shares climbed 9.1%. The S&P 500 added 0.5% and the Dow Jones industrials closed less than 0.1% lower, both weighed on by sliding oil stocks. Energy shares fell 2.3%, the worst performing sector in the S&P 500, and oil prices declined about 2.5% to $63.97 a barrel after a media report suggested OPEC and its allies could potentially raise output again after the group meets on Sunday. Gold prices trudged higher, with futures closing at a record $3,593.20 per troy ounce. Despite Wednesday’s outperformance, some analysts have warned that megacap tech stocks can’t power marketwide gains much longer. They point to the historically high valuations of companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Palantir, stocks that helped drive the market’s rebound from April lows, and question if such richly-priced shares have much more room to run. The Russell 2000, an index of small-cap stocks, rose 7% in August and outperformed all three major indexes.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Thursday. The Australian market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, snapping a four-session losing streak. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 78.90 points or 0.90 percent to 8,817.70, after touching a high of 8,818.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 75.40 points or 0.84 percent to 9,085.50. Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing almost 2 percent. The Japanese market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, reversing the losses in the previous session. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 42,456.16, up 517.27 points or 1.23 percent, after touching a high of 42,482.50 earlier. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is advancing almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is edging up 0.5 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is advancing almost 4 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 1 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, China and Taiwan are up 1.5 and 1.2 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea are higher by between 0.2 and 0.5 percent each. Hong Kong and Indonesia are down 0.7 and 0.2 percent, respectively. Malaysia is relatively flat.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Thursday. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined by 0.065 percentage points to 4.211% while the 2-year Treasury note yield shed 0.044 p.p. to 3.613%. Demand for Treasuries come back and yields fall as this week’s batch of labor data starts with a bit of a whimper. July JOLTS report shows a decline in job openings. August ADP data due tomorrow will likely show declining job creation in the private sector. Weekly jobless claims are expected to tick higher. August payrolls, Friday, are forecast to recover only slightly from July’s dismal 73,000. The Senate will consider tomorrow the nomination of Stephen Miran to the Fed.

Analysis
JPMorgan lifts target Zurich Insurance to 500 (490) CHF - Underweight
UBS raises target Barry Callebaut to 1,030 (900) CHF - Neutral
Vontobel increases target Partners Group to 1,300 (1,270) CHF - Buy