FedEx plans to rely more on shipping within the U.S. and from markets such as Europe, as tariffs slow trade to the U.S. from China. Revenue rose 3%, to $22.24 billion, in the quarter ended Aug. 31. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $21.65 billion. Shares advanced 5.5%, to $238.85, in after-hours trading. Through Thursday’s close, the stock had dropped nearly 20% this year. The company is forecasting 4% to 6% annual revenue growth, ahead of the 1.1% growth analysts were expecting, according to FactSet. It anticipates earnings per share will be $17.20 to $19 after excluding costs related to business optimisation efforts, the planned spinoff of FedEx Freight and a planned change in FedEx’s fiscal year-end. Analysts are expecting $18.36 a share in adjusted earnings. FedEx posted a profit of $824 million, or $3.46 a share, compared with $794 million, or $3.21 a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $3.83, ahead of the $3.61 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.

The SMI added 0.4 percent on Thursday to 12,049 points. Of the 21 SMI stocks, 15 gained and five lost ground, while Geberit shares closed unchanged. A total of 13.69 (previously: 16.45) million shares were traded. The leading index was led by Sonova (+1.7%) and Kühne + Nagel (+1.6%). The biggest loser was Amrize, falling 3.9 percent without any news. Richemont was among the top performers of the SMI, soaring 1.4 percent despite another sharp decline in Swiss watch exports in August. RBC analysts noted that Richemont is less dependent on watch exports than Swatch, whose share price fell 1.4 percent. Partners Group, which had already benefited from its strategic partnership with PGIM the previous day, added a further 1.3 percent. Roche advanced by 0.4 percent. The pharmaceutical company is buying the biopharmaceutical company 89bio for up to USD 3.5 billion, thereby strengthening its position in the field of obesity-related diseases. 89bio's most important drug candidate is a treatment for fatty liver disease. Novartis (+0.1%) lagged behind the market. Among smaller caps, SIG Group's share price slumped by 24.4 percent. The packaging company has undergone a strategic reorientation and lowered its annual forecast. In addition, the dividend has been canceled.

Europe
European stock markets closed on a positive note on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided on Wednesday evening to resume its cycle of monetary easing, while the Bank of England (BOE) opted for the status quo on Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8% to 555 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 climbed 0.9% and 0.8% respectively, buoyed by the technology sector. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 added 1.4% and the FTSE 100 settled for a 0.2% gain in London. ESSILORLUXOTTICA (+1.6%): In collaboration with the lens and eyewear manufacturer, Meta Platforms unveiled a new pair of connected glasses with a small built-in screen on Wednesday at the company's annual hardware and developer conference. DANONE (-0.6%): The food group will not make a new offer for the American company LifeWay Foods, which it tried to acquire last year for nearly $400 million, according to a statement sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). NEXITY (+1.4%): The real estate developer unveiled on Thursday the implementation of a share buyback program for up to 200,000 shares.

United States
On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9% to a record, its 27th closing high of 2025. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also hit new highs, with gains of 0.5% and 0.3% respectively. All three indexes were driven by technology shares, the best-performing sector of the S&P. Nvidia’s deal to invest $5 billion in beleaguered chip-maker Intel added fuel to a marketwide rally following Wednesday’s interest-rate cut. Intel’s stock soared 23% Thursday, its largest daily gain since 1987. Shares of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, climbed 3.5%. The companies said Thursday that the partnership is focused on developing new products for the data center and laptop markets. Some chip stocks, such as AMD and Arm Holdings, fell as investors tried to decipher potential winners and losers from the deal. The broader stock market got a boost from the Federal Reserve’s move Wednesday to cut interest rates for the first time this year while signalling that more easing is coming. The Russell 2000 of smaller stocks rose 2.5%, hitting its first closing record in nearly four years. 89bio jumped 85 percent. Roche is buying the biopharmaceutical company for $3.5 billion. Shares in the nuclear industry were popular. The US government is assigning the industry a central role in its global trade talks. The UK has already agreed to open up its domestic market to more US technology. Shares in reactor developers Oklo and Nuscale Power surged 10.1 and 5.5 percent. Shares in nuclear fuel developer Centrus posted a 14 percent gain.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Friday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 44.868, down 1 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is gaining 0.2 percent , Tokyo Electron is intra-day advancing almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is surging almost 5 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, China, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each. New Zealand is up 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia are up 0.1 and 0.3 percent each.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields rose on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield added 3 Basispunkte to 4,10%. Interest-rate futures showed that traders see an 80% chance of a half-point rate cut by the end of the year, according to CME Group data, up from 75% Thursday morning.

Analysis
Givaudan target price: Goldman Sachs upgrades to CHF 4400 (4300) – Buy
Comet target price: UBS raises to CHF 203 (194) – Neutral
Partners Group target price: Julius Bär lowers to CHF 1400 (1600) – Buy
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