Jeep maker Stellantis and Chinese battery maker CATL said they will invest up to 4.1 billion euros ($4.33 billion) to build a low-cost EV battery plant in Spain, seeking to bring more affordable electric cars to the market. Stellantis and the Chinese company, formally known as Contemporary Amperex Technology, said Tuesday that the plant will develop lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for electric cars in the northeastern Spanish city of Zaragoza. Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, also known as LFP, are safer and cheaper to produce than nickel, cobalt and manganese batteries, although they deliver a decreased driving range due to their lower energy density. LFP batteries are commonly used in China, but a growing number of European and North American auto makers are building plants closer to home to reduce their dependence on Chinese battery supplies. Companies are also working to boost the driving range of LFP-based EVs. The Spanish facility could reach a capacity of up to 50 gigawatts and is expected to start producing the cells and modules by the end of 2026, the companies said. “Stellantis is committed to a decarbonised future, embracing all available advanced battery technologies to bring competitive electric vehicle products to our customers,” Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said.

The Switzerland market closed notably lower on Tuesday after languishing in the red right through the day's session, as investors awaited the Swiss National Bank's policy announcement due this week. The market also looked ahead to U.S. consumer price inflation data and the European Central Bank's interest rate decision. The benchmark SMI closed down 119.33 points or 1.01% at 11,642.39, the session's low. UBS Group and Sika closed down 2.19% and 2.08%, respectively. Partners Group, Nestle, Swiss Re, Swatch Group, Roche Holding, ABB and Geberit lost 1.1 to 1.6%. Zurich Insurance Group, Swiss Life Holding, Swisscom, Logitech International, Novartis, Richemont, Lindt & Spruengli, Adecco, SIG Group and Straumann Holding also closed weak. Givaudan climbed about 1.8%. Lonza Group and SGS gained 0.85% and 0.79%, respectively.

Europe
European stocks snapped a fairly long winning streak and closed lower on Tuesday as traders chose to take some profits ahead of U.S. consumer price inflation data, and the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Data showing a slowdown in China's exports growth and an unexpected contraction in exports raised concerns about Chines economic growth. Germany's consumer price inflation rose to a four-month high in November due to less favorable energy base effects, official data showed. The consumer price index registered an annual increase of 2.2% in November, following a 2% rise in October, Destatis reported. The rate matched the estimate published on November 28. Inflation, based on the harmonized index of consumer prices, stood at 2.4%, the same as in October and in line with the flash estimate. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.52%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 0.86%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.08% and France's CAC 40 ended down 1.14%, while Switzerland's SMI declined 1.01%. Among other markets in Europe, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Austria, Belgium, Iceland and Ireland ended higher, while Denmark and Poland settled flat. In the UK market, Ashtead Group tanked 14% after the British construction equipment rental group said it plans to move its listing from London to New York. Antofagasta, Vistry Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Endeavour Mining and Glencore lost 2 to 3.5%. 3i Group, AstraZeneca, JD Sports Fashion, Persimmon, Legal & General, BAE Systems, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Bunzl, Mondi, Diploma, Vodafone Group and Prudential also ended notably lower. British Land climbed more than 1.5%. Sainsbury (J), B&M European Value Retail, Tesco and Spirax Group also closed with solid gains. In the German market, Siemens Energy closed down 3.7%. Beiersdorf, Rheinmetall, Deutsche Telekom, Zalando, Siemens and Munich RE lost 0.6 to 1.3%. Sartorius jumped more than 6% and Qiagen climbed nearly 5%. Volkswagen lost about 2% after reports that talks with unionists will continue next week. TeamViewer lost more than 12% after the software firm agreed to acquire the London-based IT firm 1E for an enterprise value of $720 million.

United States
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks moved moderately lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages added to the losses posted during Monday's session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back further off last Friday's record closing highs. The major averages dipped to new lows for the session in the latter part of the trading day. The Dow slid 154.10 points or 0.4 percent to 44,247.83, the Nasdaq fell 49.45 points or 0.3 percent to 19,687.24 and the S&P 500 slipped 17.94 points or 0.3 percent to 6,034.91. The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation on Wednesday. 'There's been little sign of the hoped-for 'Santa rally' across markets today as Wall Street continues to be distracted ahead of tomorrow's inflation data,' said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell. Gen Digital said it agreed to acquire MoneyLion in a deal valued around $1 billion. Gen, which provides security, storage and systems management through brands such as Norton and Lifelock, Tuesday said it will pay $82 a share in cash to acquire the digital financial-services and lifestyle-content platform. The deal will be accretive to adjusted earnings per share, it said. Shares of MoneyLion jumped 12% to $86 in premarket trading, while shares of Gen ticked up 0.9% to $30.74. The U.S. government will support Micron Technology, America’s largest maker of memory chips. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced the Commerce Department has awarded $6.165 billion to Micron via direct funding from the Chips and Science Act. The funding is expected to eventually support 20,000 jobs across New York and Idaho.

Asia
The trend on the East Asian stock markets was mixed within narrow limits during trading on Wednesday. Seoul, where the Kospi recovered by a further 0.7 per cent, saw the most activity. It had recently fallen more sharply due to the political crisis in South Korea, which culminated in the declaration of martial law. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 fell by 0.3 per cent to 39,262 points. The market barometers in Shanghai (+0.2 per cent) and Hong Kong (-0.0 per cent) are hovering around their previous day's closing levels. In Sydney, players are following the somewhat lighter lead of Wall Street, with the S&P/ASX down 0.5 per cent.

Bonds
In the U. S. bond market, treasuries extended the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.2 basis points to 4.221 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers the Swiss Life target to CHF 650 (670) – Neutral
BoA raises Commerzbank to Buy (Underp.)/Target EUR 20 (13) – Trader
Barclays raises Telecom Italia to Overw. (Equalw.) – Target EUR 0.32 (0.38)

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