Donald Trump and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son jointly announced Monday that SoftBank plans to invest at least $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years, as the president-elect seeks to project enthusiasm over his return to power. The Japanese internet and telecommunications company estimates that its U.S.-based investments will create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies and plans to complete the work before Trump leaves office in 2029. It is unclear how SoftBank intends to fund the commitment. The global tech investor has roughly $30 billion of cash on hand. In June, SoftBank said it would form a joint venture with U.S. healthcare company Tempus AI.

The Swiss stock market closed flat on Monday. The SMI gained 0.1 per cent to 11,702 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 11 losers and 7 gainers, while Zurich Insurance and Swisscom closed unchanged. A total of 20.81 million shares were traded (Friday: 15.99 million). The day's winners were Lonza, which was the day's loser at the end of the previous week. With a gain of 2.4 per cent, the share almost completely made up for Friday's loss. ABB improved by 0.7 per cent. The company secured a planning contract from Aker Solutions for a floating offshore wind project - the first floating offshore wind farm in Europe on a commercial scale, according to ABB. Logitech was the SMI's daily loser following a downgrade to neutral from buy by Bank of America. Logitech shed 2.1 per cent. In the second tier, Galderma advanced 4.9 per cent after the skincare specialist announced the approval of its drug Nemluvio for the treatment of atopic dermatitis by the US Food and Drug Administration. In the third row, Wisekey continued to rise. The company, operating in the fields of cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), announced a partnership between its subsidiary Wiesesat.Space and Elon Musk's space and telecommunications company SpaceX. This involves the launch of next-generation satellites on 14 January 2025.

Europe
The European stock markets lost ground on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.1% to 515.8 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.7% each. The DAX 40 dropped 0.5% in Frankfurt, as did the FTSE 100 in London. The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to continue cutting interest rates while a possible increase in customs duties in the United States poses new threats to growth in the eurozone, Christine Lagarde predicted on Monday during a speech in Lithuania. Vivendi shares jumped 41.7% on Monday, the day the split of the entertainment and media group into four companies was completed. Now listed separately, the shares of its subsidiaries Havas and Louis Hachette Group rose by 1.7% in Amsterdam and 26.9% in Paris respectively. Canal+, on the other hand, fell by 28.7% in London. Channel Tunnel operator Getlink (-2.8%) postponed for the third time the recommissioning of its high-voltage ElecLink cable, which has been out of service since the end of September.

United States
Shares of tech and other fast-growing companies extended a year-end rally Monday, while sleepier sectors struggled to keep up. Highlighting the divergence: The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.2% to a new record, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the eighth straight session, its longest streak of declines since 2018. The Dow edged down 0.3% Monday and has dropped 2.9% over its losing streak. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% after falling last week. Momentum for tech stocks accelerated last week when chip and software maker Broadcom reported a big jump in revenue, raised its dividend and presented an encouraging outlook for its artificial-intelligence business. Broadcom rose 11% Monday, after leaping 24% Friday. Fellow chipmaker Micron Technology was another standout, report ong 5.6% ahead of its own earnings report Wednesday. A rebound in U.S. Treasury yields, meanwhile, has helped drag on stocks that are more sensitive to the near-term economic outlook, such as those of smaller companies as well as banks and manufacturers. Although the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates later this week, many expect it to signal a slower pace of cuts going forward. Bitcoin climbed to a new record above $107,000. Honeywell International (+3.7%) signalled that it was considering spinning off its aerospace business, around a month after being urged to do so by activist fund Elliott Investment Management. Palantir Technologies (-0.4%), MicroStrategy (unchanged) and Axon Enterprise (+0.7%) will join the Nasdaq 100 index on 23 December, replacing Moderna (stable), Super Micro Computer (-8.3%) and Illumina (+0.4%).

Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Tuesday ahead of the US interest rate decision in the middle of the week and the decision in Japan on Thursday. In Hong Kong, the HSI fell by 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai Composite on the mainland by 0.6 per cent. Consumer-related stocks dropped sharply following the weak retail data: Yonghui Superstores tumbled 9.4 per cent and Shanghai Bailian 4.3 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei-225 lost 0.1 per cent to 39,398 points. The Kospi in South Korea declined more significantly by 1.3 per cent and extended its losses over the course of the day. Automotive battery stocks, among others, are sold off after media reports once again referred to the threat of tariffs in the USA.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields turned little changed on Monday as traders weighed a strong services-sector reading for this month against weaker-than-expected business conditions in the New York state manufacturing industry. The 10-year Treasury note yield gained one basis point (0.01 percentage point) to 4.41%. The 2-year Treasury note yield advanced by 2 basis points to 4.26%.

Analysis
Rating Galderma: UBS upgrades to Buy (Neutral) - Target CHF 102 (85)
Price target Helvetia: JP Morgan lowers to CHF 160 (170) - Neutral
Rating Leonteq: Research Partners downgrades to Hold (Buy) - Target CHF 22 (40)

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.