Novartis agreed to buy an experimental breast cancer drug from Synnovation Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to $3 billion that seeks to bolster its oncology business. The drugmaker said Friday that it is paying $2 billion upfront and up to $1 billion subject to targets to acquire a Synnovation subsidiary called Pikavation Therapeutics, which houses breast-cancer drug candidate SNV4818 and a portfolio of similar products that target a mutation found in cancer cells. Novartis said oral drug SNV4818 is currently being evaluated in an early and mid-stage study for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors. With the deal, the company aims to explore a next-generation approach for the treatment of breast cancer and potentially other indications, it said.

Swiss stocks tumbled on Thursday, mirroring the trend seen across global markets, following deepening crisis in the Middle East following missile strikes at critical energy infrastructure in the region. The benchmark SMI, which languished in negative territory right through the day, ended with a loss of 305.94 points or 2.4% at 12,459.54, the session's low. Sika ended more than 6.5% down. Straumann Holding closed nearly 5% down, and Richemont drifted down 4.52%. Geberit, Julius Baer and Amrize closed lower by a little over 4%. Holcim, Partners Group, Roche Holding, SGS, Givaudan, Schindler Ps, Sonova, ABB, VAT Group, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Novartis, UBS Group, Sandoz Group, Swiss Re and Lindt & Spruengli lost 2%-3.4%. The Swiss National Bank decided to hold its benchmark rate and signaled increased willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market to counter the excessive appreciation of currency amid the conflict in the Middle East. The central bank left its policy rate at zero percent on Thursday, in line with market expectations. The SNB had reduced the key rate by 175 basis points since March 2024. The bank exited its negative rate in 2022 after holding it for over seven years. 'Given the conflict in the Middle East, the SNB's willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market has increased,' the bank said. The SNB said it counters a rapid and excessive appreciation of the Swiss franc, which would jeopardise price stability in the domestic economy. The bank lifted its inflation forecast for 2026 to 0.5% from 0.3% but lowered the estimate for 2027 to 0.5% from 0.6%.

Europe
European markets ended sharply lower on Thursday as stocks tumbled following a severe escalation in tensions in the Middle East pushing up oil prices and triggering inflation concerns. A hawkish tone on inflation by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hurt as well. The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 2.39%. The U.K.'s FTSE ended 2.35% down, Germany's DAX closed 2.82% down, and France's CAC 40 settled lower by 2.03%, while Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss of 2.4%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Irealand, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden fell, with their benchmarks losing 1.6%-3.3%. Türkiye finished with a modest loss, while Norway bucked the trend and closed higher. Selling was widespread in almost all the markets in the region. Financial, mining, aviation and luxury stocks were among the major losers. Energy stocks managed to find some support thanks to higher oil prices. In the UK market, Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining lost 7.4% and 7.25%, respectively. Antofagasta closed 5.6% down, Rio Tinto ended nearly 5% down, and Anglo American Plc ended lower by about 4.5%. Bank stocks Natwest Group and Standard Chartered lost 8% and 6.9%, respectively. Barclays closed 4.4% down, Lloyds Banking Group shed nearly 4% and HSBC Holdings settled lower by 3.1%. M&G tumbled 7.7%. The global savings and investment company, which manages assets for individuals, institutions, and pension schemes worldwide fell, weighed down by concerns about the impact of the ongoing war in the Middle East. Barratt Redrow lost 8.45%. Weir Group, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Kingfisher, Land Securities, Marks & Spencer, Burberry Group, Easyjet, IAG, Segro, Aviva, British Land, Convatec Group, Standard Life, IMI and Bunzl fell by 4%-6.5%.

United States
After seeing notable weakness throughout much of the session, stocks regained some ground in the latter part of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remained in negative territory. The Nasdaq ended the day down 61.73 points or 0.3 percent at 22,090.69 but had slumped by as much as 1.4 percent to a six-month intraday low. The S&P 500 also fell 18.21 points or 0.3 percent to 6,606.49, while the Dow slid 203.72 points or 0.4 percent to 46,021.43. Despite the late-day recovery attempt, the major averages still ended the day at their lowest closing levels in four months. The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the escalation of the war in the Middle East following attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the region. n U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 14th. Despite the pullback by the price of crude oil, oil service stocks continued to turn in a strong performance, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.1 percent. Natural gas stocks also saw considerable strength, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumping by 2.1 percent, as the commodity has given back ground after an early surge but remains sharply higher.

Asia
Following Thursday’s sharp falls, things have calmed down somewhat on the East Asian stock markets on Friday. The overall trend is mixed; trading in Tokyo is suspended for the Spring Equinox holiday. In Seoul, the Kospi is up 0.2 per cent. Sydney has already closed the week’s final trading day with a fall of 0.8 per cent.

Bonds
U.S. treasuries fluctuated after an early slump but still closed in the red. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite to its price, rose 2.2 basis points to 4.281 percent after reaching a high of 4.326 percent.

Analysis
UBS downgrades SMG Swiss Marketplace to CHF 51.90 (57.50) – Buy
UBS upgrades Aeroports de Paris to Buy (Neutral) – Target EUR 127 (122)
Berenberg downgrades Interroll to CHF 2,400 (2,500) – Buy

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