The Swiss luxury goods group Richemont clearly increased its sales in the Christmas quarter. This significantly exceeded market expectations; analysts had expected a stable development. Sales in Asia fell less sharply than expected. In the third quarter of 2024/25 (as at the end of December), sales were up 10 per cent to 6.15 billion euros, as Richemont announced on Thursday. In local currencies, sales also climbed by 10 per cent. Analysts had expected organic growth to decline by 0.7 per cent on average. The jewellery business with the flagship brand Cartier remained strong (+14%), while the watch business with brands such as IWC faltered (-8%). Richemont does not publish profit figures for the third quarter. As usual, Richemont also did not provide a concrete outlook for the full year 2024/25.

The Swiss stock market ended trading on Wednesday on an upward note. The SMI gained 0.7 per cent to 11,782 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 18 winners and two losers. A total of 18.24 (previously: 16.13) million shares were traded. Geberit was the day's winner with a significant increase of 3.1 per cent. Financial stocks were also in demand among investors after major US banks such as JP Morgen, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup presented strong business figures. UBS advanced 2.0 per cent and Julius Baer jumped 3.3 per cent. Insurance stocks also performed well. Zurich Insursance rose by 1.6 per cent, Swiss Re and Swiss Life by 1.3 and 1.4 per cent respectively. Partners Group advanced by 1.0 per cent. The asset manager presented its first figures for the 2024 financial year after the close of trading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, shares in defensive index heavyweight Nestlé fell by 0.7 per cent. Among the two pharmaceutical giants, Roche shares increased by 1.0 per cent and Novartis added 0.5 per cent. Among the wider market, SGS dropped 6.4 per cent. The testing, inspection and certification company is in talks about a merger with Bureau Veritas from France.

Europe
The European stock markets rebounded on Wednesday, following the announcement of slightly lower-than-expected inflation in the United States and robust results in the US banking sector. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose by 1.3% to 515 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 gained 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 1.5% and the FTSE 100 in London ended up 1.2%. Stock markets were buoyed by the generally positive results of several US banks. Deutsche Bank climbed 3.3%, BNP 2.1% and Santander 1.7%. In Europe, the sector picked up 1.8%. Ubisoft jumped 4 per cent on the Paris Bourse. According to a Bloomberg report, Tencent and the Guillemot family, founders of Ubisoft, are considering setting up a new company. Against the trend, LVMH dropped by 2.1%. Press reports that LVMH champagne would continue to be sold in Russia through third-party vendors probably had a negative effect. Bayer rallied 5.8 per cent to €20.73 and was the DAX winner of the day. BVB shares lost 6.1 per cent and thus largely dominated the list of losers on the SDAX. After a mediocre first half of the season, the club has retained its coach.

United States
Stock and bond markets took an ebullient turn Wednesday, with new inflation data reviving hopes of interest rate cuts and big banks setting a strong tone for earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8% to 43284.66, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.96% to 5957.42 and the Nasdaq Composite finished 2.59% higher at 19537.42. Strong earnings reports from some of the nation’s biggest financial firms stoked further optimism. Profit at Goldman Sachs more than doubled, while JPMorgan and Wells Fargo both posted hefty, forecast-beating profit rises for last quarter. Citi swung to a profit and per-share earnings beat consensus expectations, while Bank of New York Mellon also exceeded forecasts with 11% revenue growth. Stocks tied to consumer spending also rose, surpassing technology companies that have driven most recent rallies. Home Depot and American Express were among the top performers. The December consumer-price index showed prices rising 2.9% in the past 12 months, matching forecasts. Importantly core prices, which strip out volatile food and energy, rose less than expected on both a monthly and yearly basis. Microsoft (+2.6 per cent) is getting customers in the mood to prepare for quantum technology in 2025. Shares in technology providers such as D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing jumped by 22.4 and 55.5 per cent respectively.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo, however, only advanced by 0.2 per cent to 38,526 points after posting a stronger performance in early trading. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 1.2 per cent. The fact that the South Korean central bank surprisingly did not lower its key interest rates is hardly a burden. In Hong Kong, the HSI rose by 0.6 per cent. The Shanghai Composite is slightly down ahead of the GDP data from China due on Friday night. SK Hynix is up 5.7 per cent in Seoul and Advantest climbed just under 1 per cent in Tokyo.

Bonds
A relatively benign December inflation report caused U.S. government debt yields to drop on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield slumped by 13 basis points (0.13 percentage points) to 4.655%, while the 2-year Treasury note yield declined by 10 basis points to 4.27%. According to the CME's FedWatch tool, the probability of the Fed cutting rates at least once this year rose to 85% on Wednesday, compared with 75% before the publication of the inflation figures.

Analysis
Goldman Sachs upgrades target Swiss Re to CHF 139 (136)/Neutral - Traders
Berenberg lowers target Lindt&Sprüngli to CHF 101,000 (110,000) - Hold
Jefferies downgrades target Partners Group to CHF 1,270 (1,280) - Hold

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