At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang unveiled the company’s newest AI server systems, known as Vera Rubin, which go on sale in the second half of this year. Usually, Nvidia details the specs and capabilities of its latest chips at its spring developer conference in Silicon Valley. This year, Huang said, the complexity of computing required by AI and the immense demand for advanced processors to train and operate models has prompted the semiconductor industry to move faster. “The amount of computing necessary for AI is skyrocketing,” Huang told the Las Vegas audience Monday afternoon, pacing the stage wearing a shiny black jacket in a crocodile-scale pattern. “The race is on for AI. Everyone is trying to get to the next frontier.” Multiple paradigm shifts in computing are behind the surge in demand, Huang said. Inference, or the process by which AI models respond to user prompts, “is now a thinking process,” the CEO said, and new models need to be trained on increasingly immense amounts of data to teach AI tools how to think.

The Swiss market settled marginally down on Monday after staying weak right through the day's trading, as investors, back to trading after New Year holidays, refrained from picking up stocks despite data showing an increase in retail sales for a third straight month. The benchmark SMI ended the session at 13,247.32, down 20.16 points or 0.15%. The index touched a low of 13,137.81 and a high of 13,247.36. Nestle ended nearly 3% down. Logitech International closed lower by 2.5%, while Lindt & Spruengli and Swiss Re both ended lower by nearly 2.1%. Givaudan, Galderma Group, Sandoz Group, Novartis and Roche Holding lost 0.8 to 1.25%. VAT Group soared more than 12%. Julius Baer climbed 5.4% and Partners Group moved up 4.85%, while ABB and UBS Group gained 3.4% and 3.2%, respectively. SGS, Amrize, Swiss Life Holding, Kuehne + Nagel and Helvetia Baloise Holdings ended higher by 1.2 to 2.5%. Straumann Holding, Schindler Ps, Sika, Swisscom, Sonova, Richemont and Holcim also closed on firm note. Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed retail sales in Switzerland climbed 2.3% on a yearly basis in real terms, following October's stable growth of 2.2%. The rate of expansion was slower than the expected gain of 2.5%. Excluding service stations, total retail sales were 2.4% higher compared to last year. Sales in the non-food sector posted an accelerated growth of 6.2% versus 4.1% in October.

Europe
European markets closed on a firm note on Monday, lifted by gains in defense, technology and mining sectors. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.94%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.54%, Germany's DAX surged 1.34% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.2%, while Switzerland's SMI ended down 0.15%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Russia ended weak. In the UK market, miners Antofagasta and Endeavour Mining climbed 6.25% and 6.1%, respectively. Fresnillo moved up 4.3%, Anglo American Plc gained about 3.4% and Glencore advanced 2.57%, while Rio Tinto settled with a gain of 1.75%. Babcock International, BAE Systems, Ashtead Group, Relx, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Experian, LSEG, Schroders, Smiths Group, ICG, St. James's Place, Prudential, Pearson and JD Sports Fashion gained 2 to 6%. Admiral Group, British American Tobacco, DCC, Unilever, Imperial Brands and Intercontinental Hotels Group closed down by 2 to 3%. Marks & Spencer, Metlen Energy & Metals, AstraZeneca, Whitbread, Coca-Cola HBC and BT Group also ended notably lower. In the German market, Rheinmetall soared nearly 10%. Infineon climbed 4.8% and Siemens Energy moved up 4.2%. Scout24, Siemens Healthineers, SAP, Vonovia, Merck, Siemens, Deutsche Boerse, Qiagen, Beiersdorf, Adidas and Allianz gained 1 to 2.5%. Auto stocks Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche Automobil Holding and Mercedes-Benz lost 2.3 to 3.1%. Continental lost about 1.4%. In the French market, Eurofins Scientific rallied about 8%. Thales climbed 4.7%, while Bureau Veritas, Dassault Systemes, Capgemini, Airbus Group, Safran and Schneider Electric gained 1.5 to 3%. Danone, Renault, Saint Gobain, Edenred, Carrefour, Sanofi, Orange and ArcelorMittal lost 1 to 2.3%.

United States
Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, regaining ground following the slump seen during holiday-interrupted previous week. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the Dow reaching a new record closing high. The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Dow jumped 594.79 points or 1.2 percent to 48,977.18, the Nasdaq advanced 160.19 points or 0.7 percent to 23,395.82 and the S&P 500 climbed 43.58 points or 0.6 percent to 6,902.05. The notable upward move by the Dow partly reflected a sharp increase by shares of Chevron (CVX), with the energy giant soaring by 5.1 percent. Chevron, which is one of the leading private oil companies in Venezuela, surged following a U.S. attack on the country that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. The price of crude oil also shot up in reaction to the news, contributing to substantial strength among oil service stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 5.5 percent amid optimism about potential gains from rebuilding Venezuela's oil infrastructure. Gold stocks also saw considerable strength, as the price of the precious metal jumped due to its appeal as a safe haven amid increased geopolitical tensions. Financial, airline and retail stocks also saw significant strength, while utilities and pharmaceutical stocks moved sharply lower.

Asia
Following Monday's technology-driven rally on the Tokyo and Seoul stock exchanges, East Asian stock markets continued to rise across the board on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 per cent to 52,431 points, while Seoul's Kospi rose a further 1.0 per cent. The Nikkei 225 is now just below its record high, while the Topix and Kospi are extending their record highs from the previous day. Prices are also rising on the Chinese stock markets, with the Shanghai Composite Index up another 1.2 per cent. In Hong Kong, where the HSI showed little movement at the start of the week, it is now up 1.8 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries regained ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 2.2 basis points to 4.165 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Vinci target to EUR 134 (132) – Buy
UBS lowers Eiffage target to EUR 145 (154) – Buy
UBS raises Ferrovial target to EUR 65 (58) – Buy

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