Nestle trimmed its sales guidance for the year due to a more challenging pricing environment. The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe coffee said Thursday that pricing is being pressured due to increased promotional activity, innovation investments and as the basis of comparison is distorted by large price increases last year. It now expects to report organic sales growth of at least 3% this year, from around 4% previously. "We have seen pricing come down faster than expected. Therefore, we consider it prudent to adjust our guidance for the year," Chief Executive Mark Schneider said.

The Swiss market ended moderately lower on Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for global economic growth. The benchmark SMI, which moved in a tight band between 12,178.29 and 12,235.24, ended the day's session with a loss of 75.65 points or 0.62%. VAT Group ended down 3.06%. Geberit drifted down 2.6%, ABB and UBS Group both shed about 2.1%, and Richemont ended lower by 1.73%. Lindt & Spruengli, Swatch Group, Holcim, Sika, Sonova, Straumann Holding and Partners Group lost 1 to 1.6%, and Logitech International lost nearly 1%. Julius Baer, Swiss Life Holding andSchindler Ps also ended weak. SGS soared 10.4% after the company reported a year-over-year increase in first-half sales. Givaudan climbed 1.72%, SIG Group ended 1.5% up, and Sandoz Group moved up 1.1%.

Europe
European stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors reacted to earnings announcements from U.S. tech majors and global financial institutions, and looked ahead to some crucial U.S. data, including a GDP report and inflation readings for more clarity about the Federal Reserve's likely interest rate moves. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.61%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.17%, Germany's DAX closed lower by 0.92%, and France's CAC 40 ended 1.12% down, while Switzerland's SMI settled with a loss of 0.62%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Austria, Portugal and Russia ended higher, while Spain closed flat. In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings ended down 3.5%. Scottish Mortgage, Pershing Square Holdings, Schrodders, ICG, Entain, Burberry Group and Halma lost 1.9 to 3%. Endeavour Mining rallied more than 4%. Informa ended up 3.7%. EasyJet gained about 3% after a strong Q3 trading update. Intertek Group, Vistry Group, Barratt Developments, Smith (DS), Reckitt Benckiser, Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc, Rio Tinto, Howden Joinery, Persimmon and JD Sports Fashion gained 1.3 to 3%. Fresnillo moved higher after the gold and sliver miner said it was on track to meet full-year guidance. In the German market, Deutsche Bank tanked more than 8% after the lender reported its first quarterly loss in four years. Daimler Truck Holding ended down 3.2%. HeidelbergCement, Siemens Energy, SAP, Infineon, Beiersdorf, Siemens, Commerzbank, Allianz, Vonovia and BMW lost 1 to 2.2%. Sartorius climbed about 3.3%. Fresenius Medical Care gained 2.25%. In the French market, LVMH and Kering both ended more than 4.5% down, after sales slowed in the second quarter.

United States
A stock-market selloff intensified Wednesday, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in value from the Magnificent Seven group of tech giants and pushing the Nasdaq Composite to its first decline of 3% or more in 400 trading days. After a frenzy over artificial intelligence sent stocks to new heights in the first half of the year, investors have suddenly grown more skeptical of its potential payoffs. Traders trained those newfound doubts Wednesday on Tesla, where a delayed robotaxi rollout helped shares slide 12% in a move that reverberated across the technology sector. The thrashing left the S&P 500 2.3% lower, its worst day since December 2022, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2%, or 504 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 3.6% decline was its largest skid since October 2022, when Federal Reserve officials were cranking up interest rates to tamp down inflation. Stocks had climbed to records since then on the back of AI optimism. Disappointing earnings reports by Tesla and Alphabet provided the spark for Wednesday’s fireworks, which pushed each member of the Magnificent Seven into the red. The stocks collectively lost $768 billion in market value, according to Dow Jones Market Data, the biggest such wipeout on record since Meta Platforms went public as Facebook in 2012. The market’s reaction Wednesday to the Google owner’s earnings, which slightly outpaced estimates but sparked AI-spending concerns, showcased the sky-high bar for the group as investors await results from Nvidia, Microsoft and others. The vibe shift on Wednesday rippled through stocks linked to the emerging AI supply chain for semiconductors and other products. Super Micro Computer dropped by 9.1%, while Broadcom fell 7.6%. Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices each fell by more than 6%. The ascendance of such technology firms over the past 18 months has shielded broader indexes from other industries that have underperformed. On Wednesday, that dynamic flipped to some extent, with the S&P 500’s utilities, consumer-staples, health-care and energy sectors all finishing in the green. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin rose 2.8%, extending its postearnings bump and notching an all-time high. AT&T logged its biggest gain of the year. Visa slipped by 4% after the credit-card company reported quarterly revenue growth that came in below analysts’ estimates.

Asia
The sell-off on Wall Street the previous evening was echoed on the Asian stock markets on Thursday. Japan's leading index, the Nikkei-225, led the list of losers in Asia, falling by 2.9 per cent to 38,035 points.

Bonds
U.S. yields on 10-year Treasurys, a rough proxy for investors’ rate expectations, held roughly steady Wednesday at 4.285%.

Analysis
Bank of America lowers Lindt & Sprüngli target to CHF 126,000 (127,000) – Buy
Bank of America lowers LVMH target to EUR 950 (1,000) – Buy
UBS lowers Givaudan target to CHF 4,200 (4,250) – Neutral

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