Porsche AG said it would discuss with Lutz Meschke, its finance chief, and Detlev von Platen, executive board member for sales and marketing, an early termination of their contracts. The German sports-car maker said late Saturday that it authorized the chairman of its supervisory board to enter discussions with the executives about an amicable early termination of their appointments as members of the company’s executive board. Meschke has been a member of Porsche’s executive board since 2009 with responsibility for finance and IT and its deputy chair since 2015. Meanwhile, von Platen has been a member of the company’s executive board with responsibility for sales and marketing since 2015. Last month, Porsche cautioned that the year ahead was likely to remain challenging after it reported a drop in 2024 car deliveries as weakness in China - where less expensive, locally made electric cars undercut European manufacturers - offset growth in other markets.

The Swiss market edged down marginally on Friday with stocks paring gains in late afternoon trade as investors chose to take some profits following a long winning streak. Data showing a stronger than expected jump in the nation's retail sales aided sentiment. The benchmark SMI, which rose to 12,708.45 after an hour past noon, gave up gains as the day progressed and eventually settled at 12,597.09, recording a marginal loss of 7.45 points or 0.06%. Straumann Holding, Nestle, Lonza Group and Adecco lost 1.2 to 1.75%. Schindler Ps, Kuehne + Nagel, Lindt & Spruengli, Zurich Insurance Group, Swiss Re, Givaudan and SGS ended moderately lower. Swatch Group climbed 1.53%. Logitech International gained 1.35% and Partners Group closed 1.2% up. Sandoz Group gained 0.67%. Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Swiss retail sales growth quickened in December to the highest level in four months amid faster rises in demand for food and non-food products. Retail sales rose 2.6% on a yearly basis in December after a 1.4% increase in November. Further, this was the sixth successive growth in a row. Meanwhile, economists had expected only a 0.6% rise. Month-on-month, retail sales grew 0.6% in December after remaining flat in the previous month.

Europe
European stocks saw some profit taking in late afternoon trades on Friday, but the major markets in the region still managed to close slightly up. Investors assessed recent economic data, earnings news, and monetary policy announcements of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and shrugged off concerns about the potential impact of Chinese startup DeepSeek's low-cost AI model on major tech firm's earnings. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.13% up. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.31% and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.11%, while Germany's DAX edged up 0.02%. Switzerland's SMI closed lower by 0.06%. The major European markets posted strong monthly gains. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands and Sweden ended higher. Finland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed weak. Belgium and Greece ended flat. In the UK market, Smiths Group shares soared nearly 11%. The stocks climbed following the company unveiling plans to divest divisions and expand its share buyback program. Land Securities, Mondi, St. James's Place, JD Sports Fashion, Centrica, Next, ICG, Rolls-Royce Holdings, SSE, The Sage Group and BAE Systems gained 1.3 to 3%. Fresnillo ended down 2.3%. Prudential, Sainsbury (J), Associated British Foods, Marks & Spencer, Whitbread, BT Group, Spirax Group, Croda International, Antofagasta and Smith (DS) lost 1 to 1.6%. In the German market, Siemens Energy gained about 2.3%. Infineon, Zalando and Commerzbank climbed 1.5 to 2%. Rheinmetall, Vonovia, MTU Aero Engines, RWE, Siemens and Volkwagen posted modest gains. Merck ended down 3%. Adidas, Hannover Rueck, Puma, BASF and BMW lost 1.4 to 2%. Bayer, Beiersdorf, Brenntag and Deutsche Post also closed weak. In the French market, STMicroelectronics gained about 2.5%. Schneider Electric climbed 2%. Vivendi, Engie, Unibail Rodamco, Thales, Legrand, Hermes International and Airbus Group also closed higher. LVMH, L'Oreal and Carrefour lost 1.7 to 2%. Teleperformance, Kering, Danone and Stellantis closed down 0.4 to 1%.

United States
After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory. The major averages finished the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow slid 337.47 points or 0.8 percent to 44,544.66, the S&P 500 fell 30.64 points or 0.5 percent to 6,040.53 and the Nasdaq dipped 54.31 points or 0.3 percent to 19,627.44. For the week, the Dow rose by 0.3 percent, but the S&P 500 slumped by 1.0 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled by 1.6 percent. Stocks showed a notable move to the downside in afternoon trading after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs will be levied against major U.S. trading partners beginning Saturday. Leavitt said the Trump administration will be implementing 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada as well as a 10 percent tariff on China. The White House press secretary said the tariffs were being imposed in response to the illegal fentanyl the countries have 'sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans. The news the tariffs will be implemented led to concerns about higher inflation keeping the Federal Reserve on hold for longer. Earlier in the day, stocks benefited from a positive reaction to earnings news from Apple (AAPL), which reported fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shares of Apple pulled back well off their best levels as the day progressed, however, with the tech giant falling by 0.7 percent after surging by as much as 4.0 percent. Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a closely watched Commerce Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December. Meanwhile, a slump by shares of Chevron (CVX) weighed on the Dow, with the energy giant plunging by 4.6 percent after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings.

Asia
The stock markets in East Asia and Australia suffered heavy losses across the board on Monday. US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional tariff of 10 per cent on goods from China from Tuesday. This is fuelling fears among investors of a looming trade war. Canada and Mexico have already announced retaliatory measures. China also wants to take countermeasures.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries slid firmly into negative territory after showing a lack of direction early in the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.7 basis points to 4.569 percent.

Analysis
HSBC downgrades Sainsbury to Hold (Buy)
HSBC downgrades Carrefour to Hold (Buy)
Citi downgrades DWS to Neutral (Buy)/target EUR 49.50 – Trader

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