Sandoz today inaugurates a new biosimilar development centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to strengthen and expand its in‑house biosimilar capabilities. The fully digitally integrated USD 99 million facility covers about 10,000 m² and employs more than 200 scientists. It supports end-to-end drug substance and drug product development, backed by advanced analytics and data science. The new centre is fully integrated into the development network, including bioanalytical and bioassay laboratories in Holzkirchen, Germany and device development in Cambridge, UK. The newly opened centre is the first of three major investment projects, forming part of Sandoz total investment of more than USD 1.1 billion in Slovenia, creating an end-to-end in-house biosimilar development and manufacturing hub in Europe.

The Swiss stock market edged slightly higher on Tuesday. The SMI gained 0.3 percent to 13,762 points. Cyclical stocks were in favor: Amrize rose 2.1 percent and ABB 1.7 percent. UBS gained 1.7 percent, with European financial stocks leading the way. Pharmaceutical heavyweights Roche and Novartis, considered less cyclical, fell by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Kühne+Nagel lost another 1.1 percent, as freight rates are expected to decline again following the announced reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Among smaller caps, Cicor shed nearly 5 percent. The contract manufacturer had announced the sale of its Tunisian facility as part of the implementation of an integration and productivity program. Siegfried suffered heavily after UBS downgraded it from “Buy” to “Neutral.” Its share price plummeted by 7.6 percent.

Europe
European stock markets extended their upward trend on Tuesday, as investors expressed confidence regarding the implementation of the peace agreement reached between Washington and Tehran, on the eve of the Fed’s decision. At the close, the Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.25% on Tuesday to 636 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.75% and the SBF 120 advanced 0.6%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 added 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% in London. EDENRED (-2.8%): The employee benefits specialist announced Monday evening having signed an agreement to acquire The Mobility House Solutions, a German company specializing in charging services for commercial electric vehicles. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ORANGE (-0.1%): the telecommunications operator confirmed Monday evening that it had issued 850 million euros in perpetual, non-redeemable, super-subordinated bonds with a fixed, adjustable interest rate and a coupon of 4.25% until the first adjustment date. STMICROELECTRONICS (-4.05%): The semiconductor manufacturer revealed on Tuesday the launch of a two-tranche convertible bond offering totaling $1.5 billion, as well as the early redemption of $750 million in outstanding convertible bonds maturing in 2027.

United States
U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on Tuesday. The tech-focused Nasdaq was down more than 1.9%, while the Dow rose 0.6%, moving further into record territory. Western Digital WDC rose 4.2%, near the top of the S&P 500 (-0.6%), following a 16% jump in the prior session. Seagate Technology STX climbed 1.2%. Shares gained 9% in the previous session. SpaceX shares ended the day 4.8% higher, with the market capitalization narrowly leapfrogging Amazon. The company announced a deal to buy AI-coding startup Cursor for $60 billion. Qualcomm QCOM dropped 3.1% on the heels of a report that the chip maker was in talks to acquire AI chip start-up Tenstorrent. Rackspace Technology RXT gained 5% to $6.21. The cloud computing company finalized a deal to use chips from Advanced Micro Devices AMD in its data centers. AMD stock declined 7.3% after advancing 7% on Monday. Intel INTC fell 8.5% while Marvell Technology MRVL dropped 9.8%. Broadcom AVGO declined 4.4% and Lumentum LITE sank 8.6%, placing it near the bottom of the S&P 500. Micron Technology MU dropped 6.2% following an 11% gain and record close Monday. Wall Street analysts are adjusting price targets and see further gains ahead. Outside of AI and tech, Huntsman HUN and Olin OLN declined 17% and 5.9%, respectively. The two chemical companies announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger. Moderna MRNA gained 6.3%. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted briefing documents for a June 18 meeting to discuss Moderna’s MRNA mFLUSIVA mRNA vaccine, an mRNA-based trivalent flu shot.

Asia
Asian indexes diverged for the Wednesday trading session. The Nikkei 225 is climbing 0.5 percent to 69,739 points, which are driven by chip and industrial stocks. While South Korea’s Kospi is up 0.7 percent, Chinese stock markets are once again lagging behind. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 percent, and the HSI in Hong Kong dropped 0.4 percent.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Tuesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield decreased by 3 basis points to 4.44%. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates at their current level, so the market’s focus will be on the monetary policy outlook, even more so because Kevin Warsh is chairing the committee for the first time.

Analysis
Berenberg downgrades Huber + Suhner to Hold (Buy) – Target: CHF 250 (200)
Belimo price target: Barclays raises to CHF 1,120 (1,000) – Overweight
Arbonia price target: UBS lowers to CHF 4.10 (4.70) – Neutral

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