By Ludovica SCOTTO DI PERTA
Published on Tue, 14.Jul.2026
Roche is launching a new diagnostic test for the hepatitis D virus. According to the company, the test, called Cobas HDV, is the first fully automated high-throughput test for this disease. It is designed to enable reliable detection of the virus and monitoring of treatment success, as the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals company announced on Tuesday. Until now, manual or laboratory-developed methods have often been used. The new test is available in countries that recognize the European CE mark and runs on the Cobas 5800, 6800, and 8800 systems already in use in laboratories worldwide. Hepatitis D is considered the most severe form of viral hepatitis and affects an estimated 12 million people worldwide. The virus occurs only in people with hepatitis B infection and can more rapidly lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer.
On Monday, the SMI gained 0.2 percent to 14,266 points. Stocks in the construction sector underperformed the market. Sika fell about 2 percent and Amrize 1.7 percent. Geberit shares declined by 0.4 percent. This was due to fears of supply bottlenecks after the U.S. attacked targets in Iran and Iran fired on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and, moreover, declared this important maritime transport route closed. As a potential beneficiary, Kühne + Nagel jumped 2.2 percent. The logistics group benefits, among other things, from higher margins on alternative routes. Shares of Partners Group also held up very well, gaining 1.9 percent. Swisscom shares, considered a defensive play, rose 2.1 percent. Among the index heavyweights, Nestlé gained 1.2 percent, while the pharmaceutical stocks Novartis (+0.2%) and Roche (-1.8%) moved in opposite directions. Among smaller caps, Docmorris benefited from an upgrade to “Buy” by Deutsche Bank. Its shares soared 17.3 percent. Technology stocks were sold off, a move market participants attributed to fears that the AI boom might be losing momentum. Comet shed 1.5 percent, Inficon 2 percent, and VAT Group 0.6 percent.
Europe
European stock markets closed slightly higher on Monday after a weak start to the session, even as oil prices and long-term interest rates climbed due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Stoxx Europe 600 index finished near the break-even point, at 641.01 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 each added 0.3%. The DAX 40 gained 0.2% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 finished virtually unchanged in London. IPSEN (-1.3%): The pharmaceutical company confirmed on Monday that a Phase 3 trial evaluating its drug Iqirvo for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) had met its primary endpoint. STELLANTIS (+2.2%): The automaker reported on Monday a 10% year-over-year increase in its consolidated billings for the second quarter of 2026, to 1,587,000 units. The term “billings” refers to the volume of vehicles delivered to dealerships, distributors, or directly by the company to individual and business customers. Energy stocks in Europe were up 2.1 percent on average. BP advanced 4.6 percent, and TotalEnergies increased 3 percent. Chip stocks, on the other hand, were sold off. Infineon dropped 2.9 percent, Suss fell 1.1 percent, ASML slipped 1.8 percent, and STMicroelectronics decreased 0.7 percent.
United States
U.S. stocks fell Monday as a sharp selloff in chip stocks rattled investor confidence in the artificial-intelligence trade and oil prices surged after President Trump reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 138.37 points, or 0.26%, to 52498.64. The S&P 500 fell 60.05 points, or 0.79%, to 7515.34. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 408.43 points, or 1.55%, to 25873.18. Chip stocks led the decline, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index falling 4.8%. Micron fell 4.4%, Intel dropped 6.1%, and Sandisk tumbled 13%. Marvell and AMD also declined. SpaceX shares fell about 4.2% to $139.14, nearing their initial public offering price of $135. Meta Platforms fell 1.9% after the company said its massive AI data center in Louisiana had nearly doubled in projected cost to more than $50 billion, supersizing the project to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity. Taiwan Semiconductor's June revenue jumped 68% from a year earlier, hitting a record and implying second-quarter revenue of $39.55 billion, slightly above analyst estimates. Its ADRs fell 2.9%. TMSC reports earnings on Thursday. Bank earnings kick off in earnest Tuesday, with results from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all due before the open.
Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Tuesday. Seoul, which had been this year’s market favorite, is once again the biggest loser. Following yesterday’s 9 percent plunge, the Kospi is plummeting another 3 percent. Losses are significantly smaller in other markets. Hong Kong is down 0.6 percent, Shanghai 0.7 percent, and Sydney 0.4 percent. In Tokyo, the broad-based Topix index is actually holding up well. Brent crude is currently trading at $84.60, its highest level in about a month. Among individual stocks in Seoul, Samsung Electronics is recovering slightly from recent losses, up 1.3 percent. SK Hynix, on the other hand, is down 5.3 percent.
Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Monday. The 10-year Treasury note yield gained 0.042 percentage point, to 4.610%. Markets are pricing in less than a 50% chance of a rate increase at the Fed's July meeting.
Analysis
Deutsche Bank lowers Partners Group to 840 (930) CHF - Buy
Deutsche Bank upgrades Docmorris to Buy (Hold) - Target 11.50 (5.50) CHF
UBS cuts SAP to 164 (205) EUR - Buy
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