Nike (+10.7% after-hours) said it expects the decline in its sales and margins to slow in the current quarter as it continues to clear aged inventory and crank up marketing as its turnaround strategy progresses. Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill said Nike’s current results aren’t up to its standard, but its work to reposition the business around a focus on distinct products with key sports should result in improving results from here amid a segmented marketplace. The sportswear brand said Thursday it expects sales in its fiscal first quarter to drop at a rate in the mid-single digits from a year ago, moderating from a 12% decline in the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet expect a 6.9% decline. Under Hill, Nike has looked to increase its points of contact with consumers, with plans to return to selling directly through Amazon.com and a focus on reinvigorating its wholesaler relationships after leaning into its direct-to-consumer channel in recent years. Nike has also worked to clear old inventory and boost marketing spending, which it expects to continue going forward. “It’s time to turn the page. Just look at the pace of change we’ve embraced and the progress we’ve made over the last eight months,” said Hill, who rejoined the Beaverton, Ore., company in October. In its latest fiscal quarter, Nike saw profit plunge and sales fall as it remains in the early stages of an attempt to improve results. The company posted a profit of $211 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with $1.5 billion, or 99 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast earnings of 12 cents a share. Gross margins fell to 40.3% from 44.7%, in line with the company’s guidance range, primarily due to higher discounts and changes in channel mix. Higher sports and brand marketing expenses also weighed on the bottom line as demand creation expenses rose 15%. Revenue fell 12%, to $11.1 billion, ahead of the $10.73 billion expected by analysts. Direct revenue fell 14%, to $4.4 billion, while wholesale revenue fell 9%, to around $6.4 billion. Sales in North America fell 11%, to $4.7 billion, from a year ago, driven by lower footwear sales. Sales in China and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region fell by 21% and 9%, respectively.

On Thursday, there was little movement on the Swiss stock market. The SMI practically stood still and closed at 11,880 points. Among the 20 regular SMI stocks, there were 15 losers and 5 winners. A total of 19.48 million shares were traded (Wednesday: 18.99 million). On a day with very little news on the corporate side, UBS emerged as the SMI winner with a gain of 2.2 per cent. The two pharmaceutical heavyweights Novartis (+1.1%) and Roche (+1.0%) took second and third place. Nestlé, which brought up the rear the previous day, continued to fall, this time by 0.9 per cent. Holcim (-1.5%) and Amrize (-2.7%), the two shares that had been the talk of the town over the course of the week, were at the bottom. Since Monday, the Holcim share has been traded “ex Amrize” as the US business trading under Amrize has been spun off. For a transitional period, the Amrize share is now also part of the SMI, thus encompassing 21 stocks. The annual index review will then take place on 19 September.

Europe
The European stock markets edged higher on Thursday as geopolitical tensions eased and investors anticipated a rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in September. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.1% to 537.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 indexes stagnated, held back in particular by luxury goods stocks. The DAX 40 climbed 0.6% in Frankfurt and the FTSE 100 added 0.2% in London. CARREFOUR (-7.8%): the supermarket group suffered the biggest decline in the CAC 40 index, penalised by JPMorgan's pessimism about its first-half results. WORLDLINE (+20.3%): the payments specialist rebounded, without however recovering all the ground lost on Wednesday, when the share price plunged by 38.3%. According to an investigation by several media, the group has carried out fraudulent or unethical payments for online retailers over the last ten years. EDENRED (+6.3%), PLUXEE (+2.2%): the meal voucher specialists climbed on the stock market on Thursday, after Véronique Louwagie, the French Minister for Trade and SMEs, presented a reform of the sector which provides for its total dematerialisation by 2027, but which excludes a cap on the commissions received by issuers of these means of payment. VALNEVA (+4.1%): the biopharmaceutical company confirmed on Thursday that it had signed an exclusive agreement with its German counterpart CSL Seqirus for the marketing and distribution of Valneva's three vaccines in Germany. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. SHELL (+0.7%), BP (+1.5%): oil group Shell said it was not ‘actively’ considering a takeover of its rival BP and denied having approached the latter. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Wednesday, citing sources close to the matter, that Shell was holding preliminary discussions to acquire BP.

United States
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite on Thursday closed just below their all-time highs, extending a head-spinning round-trip from the stock-market rout in April. The Nasdaq added 1% and notched its highest finish since Dec. 16. The technology-heavy index is up 32% from its low point on April 8, following a roughly 21% swoon after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs. The S&P finished 0.8% higher, less than 0.1% shy of its high water mark, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed roughly 404 points, or 0.9%, to 43386.84. Enthusiasm about technology-driven growth is overcoming concerns about volatile geopolitics and lofty valuations, analysts said. Tech stocks were hit hard during the market’s tariff swoon but boomeranged back as investors grew more sanguine about avoiding a debilitating trade war—and regained enthusiasm for companies involved in artificial intelligence. Firms such as Amazon and Meta Platforms announced significant investments in AI in recent days and are expected by analysts to report strong second-quarter earnings. JPMorgan Chase hit a new intraday peak and closed with a market capitalization above $800 billion for the first time. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase jumped 5.5% to a new high of $375.07, its first record since November 2021. Finance companies Goldman Sachs Group and Apollo Global Management were also among the biggest gainers.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Friday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 rose by 1.6 per cent to 40,203 points, the first time it has traded above the 40,000 point mark since the end of January. The Kospi fell by 0.9 per cent and share prices in China were flat. Tokyo Electron climbed by 5 per cent, Softbank by 3 per cent and Sony by 2.6 per cent. Kawasaki Heavy Industries increased by 5.1 per cent and Fanuc by 3.9 per cent.

Bonds
A rally in U.S. Treasuries maintained its momentum on Thursday, driving yields lower, as markets worry about political interference on the Fed and despite stronger-than-expected economic indicators. Layoffs remain subdued, and May durable goods orders grew way faster than forecast. First-quarter economic growth estimate was revised lower. May PCE inflation is expected to accelerate slightly, according to a WSJ survey. The 10-year Treasury note yield lost 3 basis points to 4.26 per cent.

Analysis
Rating Sunrise: Berenberg starts with Hold - Target CHF 49
Target price Givaudan: Goldman Sachs increases to CHF 4500 (4255) - Buy
Target price Tecan: Kepler Cheuvreux downgrades to CHF 180 (210) - Hold