Adobe said Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen, credited with leading the software company’s transformation over the past 18 years, will step down after it finds a new leader for the artificial intelligence era. Narayen’s departure comes as the software company struggles to convince investors that it can outpace AI’s industrywide disruptions. Adobe on Thursday posted higher quarterly sales but failed to impress Wall Street with its AI-driven revenue. Shares fell 7.8% in after-hours trading. Adobe posted a profit of $1.89 billion, or $4.60 a share, compared with $1.81 billion, or $4.14 a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $6.06, ahead of the $5.87 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 12% to $6.40 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $6.28 billion. Subscription revenue increased 13%. Adobe’s AI-first annualized recurring revenue more than tripled year over year, Narayen said.

The Swiss stock market followed European markets down on Thursday. The SMI lost 0.9 percent to 12,842 points. The leading index was also weighed down by Roche's sharp decline, which was due to the pharmaceutical company's dividend deduction. UBS gave up 2.1 percent. In addition, financial results had to be processed. Swiss Life dropped 2.3 percent. Geberit shed 0.3 percent after presenting its figures. Building materials group Holcim (-3.7%) is expanding its presence in Latin America with the acquisition of Cemex's building materials activities in Colombia. Holcim put the transaction value at USD 485 million. Holcim expects the acquired activities to generate net sales of around USD 360 million this year. However, the share price suffered primarily from higher energy costs. Among small caps, Accelleron shot up 11.8 percent following the release of its figures – the payouts were particularly well received. Bachem (+7.7%), Polypeptide (+8.8%), Kardex (+8.4%), Santhera Pharmaceuticals (-7.2%), and Interroll (-1.8%) also reported earnings.

Europe
European stock markets closed lower again on Thursday, weighed down by concerns over the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices and the global economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.6% to 598.9 points. In Paris, CAC 40 and SBF 120 each lost 0.7%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 slipped 0.2% and the FTSE 100 shed 0.5% in London. JCDECAUX (+14.8%): The world's leading outdoor advertising company, JCDecaux, indicated on Thursday a forecast for organic growth of more than 5% year-on-year in its first-quarter 2026 revenues, after posting higher results in the last financial year. WORLDLINE (+8%): The electronic payments specialist announced on Thursday the launch of a €392 million capital increase open to all its shareholders, the final stage of its recapitalization project, which is projected to raise a total of around €500 million. ABIVAX (+6.8%): British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca has reportedly been granted a two-month exclusivity period, ending on March 23, with a view to a possible takeover of the biotech company, according to media outlet La Lettre.

United States
U.S. stock indexes tumbled on Thursday, after it became clear to investors that Iran was willing to inflict - and suffer - economic pain as the conflict in the Middle East drags on. The Dow dropped 1.6%, or 739 points, while global oil prices logged their largest one-day percentage gain since the Covid pandemic. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark for oil prices, jumped 9.2% to $100.46 a barrel, their largest one-day gain since May 2020. Stocks fell in tandem: The S&P 500 retreated 1.5%. The Nasdaq dropped 1.8% and is now down roughly 7% from its most recent high. Shares of energy companies like Occidental Petroleum and Phillips 66 climbed, as did fertilizer suppliers like Mosaic and CF Industries Holdings. The price of fertilizer has jumped in recent days, with the Middle East conflict choking off big chunks of the world’s supply of ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates. Meanwhile, financial and industrial shares tumbled. Energy-guzzling airlines, manufacturers and transportation firms in the industrial sector would be hard-hit by a prolonged oil shock. Shares of banks, brokerages and asset managers were weighed down further by a report that one Morgan Stanley private-credit fund is among the latest to say it won’t give back all the money to investors wanting out.

Asia
The ongoing war in Iran and its consequences continue to weigh on stock markets in East Asia on Friday. In Tokyo, the Topix index loses 0.6 percent. On the Seoul stock exchange, the Kospi fell by 1.8 percent. Japan and South Korea are heavily dependent on oil imports. Chinese stock markets are holding up better. In Shanghai, the Composite Index is down 0.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong declined by 0.5 percent. Among individual stocks on the Japanese stock exchange, Honda slumped by 5.6 percent. The car manufacturer is realigning its strategy for electric vehicles and therefore expects costs of around US$15.7 billion, which will push it into the red in the current fiscal year (ending March). This would be its first loss since it began publishing consolidated results in 1977.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Thursday as U.S. labor market stays resilient amid the global turmoil. The 10-year Treasury note yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.25%. Investors have drastically scaled back their bets: Interest-rate futures showed Thursday afternoon that traders see a 45% chance that the Federal Reserve doesn’t cut rates at all in 2026, according to CME Group. That was up from 24% Wednesday and 4% before the Iran war started.

Analysis
Target price for Lindt N: Goldman Sachs lowers to CHF 109,000 (113,000) – Sell
Target price for Roche: JPMorgan reduces to CHF 325 (350) – Neutral
Target price for Temenos: Goldman Sachs upgrades to CHF 89 (81) – Neutral

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