Assicurazioni Generali reported better-than-expected profits for the first quarter, driven by the performance of its property-and-casualty division. The Italian insurer said Thursday that its net profit for the three months ended March 31 slipped to 1.195 billion euros ($1.35 billion) from 1.26 billion euros in the same quarter last year, which was flattered by a non-operating investment result and a one-off capital gain from its TUA Assicurazioni disposal. Adjusted net profit came in 7.6% higher than a year prior at 1.20 billion euros, it said. Gross written premiums edged up 0.2% to 26.54 billion euros. Operating result–a metric closely watched by analysts and investors–increased 8.9% to 2.07 billion euros, it said. “Our P&C business benefited from healthy top-line growth, mainly driven by the non-motor line, as well as from a continued improvement in the combined ratio,” Finance Chief Cristiano Borean said. Generali was expected to post a net profit of 1.12 billion euros, an adjusted net profit of 1.125 billion euros, operating profit of 2.03 billion euros and gross written premiums of 27.55 billion euros, according to an analysts’ consensus provided by the company. Its solvency ratio–a measure of capital strength–stood flat at 210%, it added.

After opening modestly down, the Switzerland market kept sliding on Thursday, and despite recovering some lost ground past mid afternoon, ended the day's session on a weak note. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 12,201.78 about a couple of hours past noon, ended the day with a loss of 110.41 points or 0.89% at 12,269.95. Sonova ended down 3.35%. Alcon, Schindler Ps, Straumann Holding, Holcim, Partners Group, SGS, Richemont, Geberit, Adecco and Kuehne + Nagel closed lower by 1.6 to 2.08%. Roche Holding, SIG Group, Givaudan, Julius Baer, Logitech International, Sika, Novartis and Swatch Group also ended notably lower. Flash data showed the Eurozone HCOB Composite PMI dropped to 49.5 in May, from 50.4 in April. The Manufacturing PMI improved to 49.4 from 49.0, while the Services PMI dropped to 48.9 from 50.1.

Europe
European stocks closed lower on Thursday as rising concerns over U.S. fiscal outlook and a lack of clarity on tariff negotiations rendered the mood cautious, prompting investors to lighten commitments. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.64%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost between 0.5 to 0.6%, while Switzerland's SMI closed down 0.89%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended weak. Portugal and Turkiye closed notably higher, while Iceland ended marginally up. In the UK market, British Land Company, a real estate investment and development company, closed 5.5% down, after saying it expects earnings to be flat next year. Airline EasyJet ended 2.7% down. The company reported wider loss for the first-half of its current financial year. In the first half, loss before tax widened to 401 million pounds from last year's loss of 347 million pounds. Basic loss per share was 39.5 pence, compared to loss of 34.3 pence a year ago. Johnson Matthey soared more than 30% after the industrial group confirmed that it is in advanced discussions over a potential sale of a unit involved in the production of sustainable aviation fuel. JD Sports Fashion, Convatec Group, Marks & Spencer, BAE Systems, Endavour Mining and Rolls-Royce Holdings closed higher. DCC, Intermediate Capital Group, Persimmon, Intertek Group, Experian, Barratt Redrow, Melrose Industries and Weir Group ended on a weak note. In the German market, Porsche, Merck, Puma, Heidelberg Materials, Sartorius and Brenntag lost 2 to 4.3%. RWE, Henkel, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Mercedes-Benz and Rheinmetall also closed notably lower. Siemens Energy and Bayer gained about 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively. Commerzbank climbed 1.3%. In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Stellantis, Renault, Hermes International, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain, LVMH, TotalEnergies and Capgemini closed down 1.6 to 4%. Thales gained about 1.7%. Essilor, Schneider Electric, Orange, Engie, Safran and Bouygues posted moderate gains. Survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's manufacturing confidence weakened in May on deteriorating global orders and personal production expectations. The manufacturing sentiment index dropped to 97 in May from 100 in April. The score was forecast to improve to 99

United States
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on the Thursday but gave back ground in the latter part of the session to close roughly flat. The major averages pulled back well off their highs in the final hour of trading before closing narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 53.09 points or 0.3 percent to 18,925.73, the Dow edged down 1.35 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 41,859.09 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.60 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,842.01. Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session but moved to the upside as the day progressed, as traders kept a closer than usual eye on treasury yields. The tax cut bill passed the House in a largely party-line vote early this morning, but analysts warn it could add trillions to the federal government's already massive debt. The plan has sparked fears of an even wider deficit, especially as interest payments continue to soar. In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump called the bill 'arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country' and urged the Senate to send the bill to his desk as soon as possible. On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a slight decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 17th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000. Reflecting the lackluster close by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves. Steel stocks showed a notable move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index falling by 1.3 percent. Utilities and gold stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while strength remained visible among airline stocks.

Asia
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved higher over the course of the session after initially extending yesterday's slump. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 4.3 basis points to 4.553 percent.

Bonds
After the previous day's losses, the East Asian and Australian stock markets recovered slightly on Friday. The regional stock market is thus heading for its sixth week of gains.

Analysis
BoA lowers the Marks & Spencer target to 415 (445) p – Buy
DZ raises the Fraport target to EUR 68 (65) – Buy
BoA raises the BT target to 210 (208) p – Buy