Tesla’s global vehicle sales fell 13.5% in the second quarter compared with a year ago, continuing a steep slide in automotive sales, as the company tries to pivot to autonomous vehicles. The final quarterly tally of 384,122 Teslas delivered missed analysts’ expectations of 387,000 deliveries, according to FactSet. The electric-vehicle maker has struggled to reverse months of declining sales, which analysts have in part attributed to consumer backlash against the brand and its Chief Executive Elon Musk, whose role in cutting government spending was polarizing. He stepped down from his federal role at the end of May. Morgan Stanley cited Musk’s public falling out with President Trump as a potential problem for sales in a June note to investors: “While the situation remains fluid, we believe the disagreement will not help Tesla demand but could potentially (temporarily) alienate multiple sides of the political spectrum.” Tesla shares were trading up 4.5% Wednesday afternoon following the release of the company’s latest delivery figures because many investors were expecting the results to be worse. Tesla has turned to vehicle updates and low-cost financing to try to drum up customer interest as it faces increased competition and pressure on its brand stemming from Musk’s stint in politics.

Despite struggling for direction for much of the day's trading session, the Switzerland market closed modestly higher on Wednesday as select stocks found some good support in the final hour. The mood was cautious with investors awaiting further news on the trade front, and the data on Swiss inflation and unemployment, due later in the week. The benchmark SMI closed up 28.93 points or 0.24% at 11,992.24. The index touched a low of 11,917.49 and a high of 12,013.59 in the session. Adecco climbed nearly 4.5% and UBS Group closed up 3.45%. Swatch Group, Straumann Holding, VAT Group and Logitech International gained 2 to 3%. SGS gained nearly 2.5% after the company agreed to acquire Applied Technical Services, the US-based testing, inspection, calibration, and forensics company, for an enterprise value of $1.33 billion. Holcim gained nearly 2%. Kuehne + Nagel, Julius Baer, Richemont and SIG Group ended higher by 1 to 1.5%. ABB and Novartis posted moderate gains. Zurich Insurance Group ended down 1.8%. Lonza Group, Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re, Geberit, Swisscom, Sandoz Group and Sonova lost 0.7 to 1%.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors continued to closely watch trade negotiations between the U.S. and major countries across the globe ahead of the July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs. The UK market underperformed as bond yields rose amid political uncertainty after Chancellor Rachel Reeves failed to get support from Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The pan European Stoxx 600 claimbed 0.3%. Germany's DAX gained 0.31% and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 1.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended just 0.1% up. Switzerland's SMI ended with a gain of 0.24%. Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Austria, Belgium and Russia ended weak. In the UK market, Glencore rallied more than 6%. Antofagasta, Spirax Group, Anglo American Plc, Ashtead Group, BP, Rio Tinto, Melrose Industries, Mondi, HSBC Holdings, Shell, Admiral Group and Intertek Group also posted strong gains. Wizz Air Holdings rallied more than 2.5% in early trades today after releasing improved passenger traffic statistics for June. However, the stock pared gains subsequently, and was up just marginally at close. Bytes Technology Group shares tanked nearly 31% after the software reseller warned of lower first-half profit. Shares of bakery chain Greggs Plc closed 14% down, following a profit warning. Berkeley Group Holdings tumbled nearly 8% and Persimmon closed 6.8% down. Natwest Group, Convatec Group, Land Securities, Marks & Spencer, Barratt Redrow, Unite Group, Next, Babcock International and Taylor Wimpey lost 4.4 to 5.5%.

United States
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moving back to the upside following the pullback seen during Tuesday's trading. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset yesterday's losses, once again reaching new record closing highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 190.24 points or 0.9 percent to 20,393.13 and the S&P 500 climbed 29.41 points or 0.5 percent to 6,227.42, although the narrower Dow edged down 10.52 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,484.42. The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump announced that he has reached a trade deal with Vietnam. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the terms of the deal call for Vietnam to pay a 20 percent tariff on goods sent to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on any transshipping. 'In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,' Trump said. Microsoft plans to cut another 9,000 workers in its latest round of layoffs, bringing its workforce reductions to 15,000 in the past two months. The cuts to staff represent less than 4% of the tech giant’s global workforce and span levels, geographies, tenure and teams, a company spokesman said. Job cuts hit Microsoft’s gaming segment, but they didn’t account for the majority of the staff reductions. The latest round of layoffs adds to about 6,000 roles that Microsoft eliminated in May across its product and software development teams.

Asia
The East Asian stock markets showed a mixed trend in the course of trading on Thursday. While prices in Hong Kong fell more sharply, with the index down 1.0 per cent, the Kospi in Seoul rose by 1.0 per cent. Tokyo was virtually unchanged, with the Nikkei index at 39,773 points, and the market barometer in Shanghai also barely budged. In Sydney, Australia, the leading index lost 0.2 per cent after new foreign trade data from Australia was disappointing.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries saw further downside following the news of the trade deal with Vietnam. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.2 basis points to 4.293 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Lindt & Sprüngli to CHF 147,000 (129,000) – Buy
UBS lowers Sodexo to EUR 66.75 (71.25) – Buy
Barclays lowers Renault to EUR 50 (55) – Overweight