Docmorris accelerated its growth in the second quarter. The Swiss online pharmacy benefited from a strong increase in sales of prescription drugs in Germany. The company confirmed its full-year EBITDA target. External sales rose by 15 percent to 310 million Swiss francs. Growth in the German market also stood at 15 percent, reaching 292 million Swiss francs. Sales of prescription medications (Rx) increased by 46 percent to just under 80 million Swiss francs. With over-the-counter medications (Non-Rx), Docmorris generated sales of 212 million Swiss francs in Germany, up 6.7 percent from the previous year. In the first half of the year, external revenue at the Group level grew by 12.5 percent to 628 million Swiss francs. At the end of June, Docmorris announced plans to reduce its costs by at least 15 million Swiss francs annually by the end of 2027 through workforce reductions and the use of artificial intelligence. Group-wide, this is expected to result in the elimination of approximately 100 full-time jobs. Docmorris will publish the results of the program and the full figures for the second quarter on August 19.

On Tuesday, the SMI fell 0.2 percent to 14,242 points. Among stocks considered defensive, Swisscom gained 0.1 percent. Index heavyweight Nestlé closed 0.3 percent lower. Pharmaceutical stocks were sold off. Novartis and Roche declined by 1.7 and 1.1 percent, respectively. Alcon and Lonza lost 3 and 1.1 percent. Among the gainers was ABB, which rose 2 percent on no particular news. UBS shares (+3.7%) were also in demand. On Tuesday, five major U.S. banks had reported their financial results, revealing strong profit growth. Kühne + Nagel gave up its initial gains and slipped 0.1 percent. The logistics company had benefited the previous day from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which could lead to higher freight rates on alternative routes.

Europe
European stock markets closed slightly higher overall on Tuesday, as better-than-expected inflation figures from the United States offset the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 642.10 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 ended virtually unchanged. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 added 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 gained 0.3% in London. CAPGEMINI (-1.6%), DASSAULT SYSTEMES (-1.5%), SOPRA STERIA (-2%): Software companies struggled on Tuesday after the U.S. technology group IBM (-25.8% during trading on Wall Street) reported disappointing preliminary results for the second quarter of this year. ICADE (+1.3%): The real estate group revealed Monday evening having regained full ownership of the Eqho Tower, located in the La Défense business district in the Paris region, by acquiring a 49% stake in the asset from South Korean investors. ERICSSON (-11.7% in Stockholm): The telecommunications equipment specialist warned that profitability in its networks division would decline in the third quarter, following a drop in sales in the North American market during the second quarter, while higher prices for semiconductors and components continue to weigh on the business.

United States
A hectic day in markets lifted stocks Tuesday, thanks to booming bank profits and an unexpectedly upbeat inflation report. All major U.S. indexes ended the day in the green, despite a historic fall from grace for one member of the Dow industrials. Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.4%. The Dow industrials edged less than 0.1% higher, weighed down by tumbling shares of International Business Machines. June’s much-awaited inflation reading came in lower than expected. Consumer prices were up 3.5% in June from a year earlier, below the 3.8% rate expected by analysts. Several of the country’s biggest banks reported quarterly profits Tuesday morning, kicking off the second-quarter earnings season and giving a clear sign that business on Wall Street is booming. Five of the country’s biggest banks—JPMorgan Chase JPM, Bank of America BAC, Goldman Sachs GS, Citigroup C and Wells Fargo WFC—saw a collective 39% jump in quarterly earnings, boosted by huge deals such as the SpaceX IPO and notable gains in equities trading revenue. Shares of Goldman, JPMorgan and Bank of America climbed after the results, while Wells Fargo and Citigroup shares fell. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan, said that conditions for the banking business were “getting close to as good as it gets.” Goldman’s stock jumped 9% to close at a new all-time high, its best day since April 2025. It’s difficult to understate just how badly Tuesday went for shares of IBM IBM. The stock plummeted some 25% after the company issued a profit warning Tuesday morning. IBM said the performance of its software and infrastructure business fell short of expectations in the second quarter, and the company didn’t react quickly enough to the changing market conditions. It was the stock’s worst day on record, based on data going back to 1972. The selloff erased some $69 billion in market value and dragged down shares of similar firms including Accenture and ServiceNow.

Asia
Asian stocks gained Wednesday as markets dialed back U.S. rate-hike expectations following an unexpectedly upbeat inflation print, while oil rose after the U.S. resumed its blockade of Iranian ports. South Korea’s Kospi surged 8%, buoyed by heavyweight chip makers SK Hynix 000660 and Samsung Electronics 005930. A rise of more than 5.0% spurred the Korean exchange to briefly suspend trade of the index’s stocks. SK Hynix and Samsung shares jumped 13.2% and 7.9%, respectively. Hanmi Semiconductor even jumped by around 28 percent. In Tokyo, the Topix added 0.8 percent, with semiconductor stocks Advantest, Renesas, and Tokyo Electron gaining up to 5.4 percent. While the HSI in Hong Kong climbed 1.5 percent—driven in part by gains of over 3 percent each for Alibaba and Tencent—the Shanghai Composite edged down slightly against the backdrop of rather lackluster economic data.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped 0.02 percentage points to settle at 4.59%. In the wake of the inflation report, traders scaled back their rate-hike bets: They now see a roughly 17% chance that the Fed will raise interest rates at its next meeting, according to CME FedWatch. That is down from 42% on Monday afternoon.

Analysis
Berenberg raises Ems-Chemie target price to 630 (565) CHF - Sell
Dätwyler target price: Kepler Cheuvreux lowers to 185 (195) CHF - Buy
Amrize target price: Kepler Cheuvreux cuts to 48.50 (50.50) CHF - Buy
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