ABB continued to grow operationally in the third quarter of 2026. As in the first two quarters, revenue and order intake posted double-digit growth, with the latter performing exceptionally well, thanks in no small part to data centers. The profit margin improved once again, remaining at a high level. Revenue jumped 14 percent to $9.70 billion, the company—which specializes in electrification, automation, and drive technology—announced on Tuesday. Order intake, the basis for future revenue, picked up even more sharply on a comparable basis, shooting up 40 percent to $12.06 billion and reaching a new record high. The operating margin (EBITA) was 1.6 percentage points higher than the previous year’s figure at 20.8 percent, placing it toward the upper end of the target range of 18 to 22 percent. ABB attributes the increase to improvements in two of its three business segments, lower costs in the e-mobility business, and reduced corporate expenses. Net income was $1.18 billion, down 2 percent from the previous year. ABB is establishing a joint venture with Mitsubishi Electric for low-voltage products in the Asia-Pacific region. The industrial group is acquiring a 51 percent majority stake for the equivalent of approximately $495 million, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Swiss stock market held up better than the rest of the European stock markets on Monday. The SMI declined 0.2 percent to 14,369 points. Defensive blue-chip stocks benefited only to a limited extent from the generally negative sentiment across Europe; Roche and Nestlé each rose 0.2 percent, while Novartis slipped 0.4 percent. The pharmaceutical company Roche had entered into a cooperation and licensing agreement with the Chinese Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, the total value of which could exceed 15 billion U.S. dollars. Alcon saw no benefit from a U.S. approval; its stock closed 0.3 percent lower. UBS suffered from turmoil in the European bond market, with its share price sinking 1.4 percent. ABB gave up 1.3 percent one day before the release of the industrial goods group’s earnings report. Lindt & Sprüngli traded 0.1 percent lower, even though the chocolate manufacturer had announced an unexpected leadership change. Since the slump in Easter sales due to prices that were no longer competitive, investors had been calling for a renewal and rejuvenation of the management team. However, the immediate departure of CEO Adalbert Lechner now seems to be viewed more as a sign of panic. Following a positive report from Citi, Avolta shares climbed 2.6 percent.

Europe
European stock markets opened the week sharply lower, as investors expressed concern about the political and social situation in France following this weekend’s urban riots. According to MarketWatch data, the Stoxx Europe 600 index eased 0.8%, falling to 639.6 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each lost 1.1%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 slipped 1.2%, and the FTSE 100 dipped 1.1% in London. RUBIS (+2.6%): The petroleum products distribution group announced plans to transform itself into a public limited company (SA) with an executive board and a supervisory board. Rubis’s legal, tax, and labor framework is currently defined by the legal status of a limited partnership with share capital (SCA). EURONEXT (+1.3%, to 169.30 euros): On Monday, Citi upgraded its recommendation on the pan-European stock exchange operator’s stock from “neutral” to “buy” and raised its price target from 156 euros to 200 euros. Defense sector stocks came under pressure. Hensoldt, Rheinmetall, and Airbus decreased by 0.3%, 2.8%, and 2.3%, respectively. CSG shed 2.7% and Thales 0.9%.

United States
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 36.38 points, or 0.07%, to 51966.03. While the S&P 500 gained 31.29 points, or 0.41%, to 7690.73 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 290.85 points, or 1.11%, to 26430.89, regaining some of the losses from its worst week since June. CoreWeave CRWV shares dropped 0.4% to $61.12 during a volatile session. The provider of cloud-computing services has borrowed heavily to fund data-center development and recent moves in derivatives markets suggest it will have trouble meeting its obligations due to rising rates. Among other cloud-computing firms that have borrowed to fund AI infrastructure, shares of Oracle ORCL rose 1.1% to $129.59. Nebius NBIS shares gained 2.9% to $170.24. Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs CLF jumped 16% to $14.10 after the integrated steelmaker posted third-quarter revenue growth on higher metals prices and demand. Silgan Holdings SLGN agreed to buy closely held Trivium Packaging, a fellow supplier of metal packaging products for consumer products, for about $3.4 billion. Silgan shares rose 6% to $40.06. Silence Therapeutics SLN shares more than doubled, rising 126% to $19.58 after German drug maker Merck MRK KGaA agreed to buy the biotech firm for about $1.1 billion in cash, paying a substantial premium for the smaller company’s gene-silencing technology.

Asia
Concerns about the financing and profitability of the AI boom are once again running rampant on Asian stock markets on Tuesday, and as a result, many tech stocks are under pressure. This is particularly evident on the tech-heavy Seoul Stock Exchange, where the Kospi has dropped 4.3 percent. A sobering stock market debut is also weighing on sentiment in Seoul. Shares of Elice, an AI data center infrastructure company, opened 16 percent below the offering price and were last trading as much as 30 percent below it. The two heavyweights, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are down 2.8 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Hanmi Semiconductor gave up 4.5 percent. In Tokyo, Kioxia is down 2.1 percent, SoftBank Group 5.9 percent, and Murata Manufacturing 2.5 percent; in Hong Kong, SMIC shed 1.2 percent. The Topix in Tokyo is down 1.3 percent, while in Hong Kong, the HSI is down 1.0 percent at the start of the week following the holiday break. In Shanghai, however, the Composite Index is holding steady.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Monday as bond investors braced for a potential rate hike from the Federal Reserve in response to the latest bout of energy-driven inflation. The 10-year Treasury note yield rose 0.038 percentage point to 5.135%. The 30-year Treasury note yield added 0.035 percentage point to 5.472%. The 2-year Treasury note yield increased by 0.025 percentage point to 4.759%.

Analysis
Citi initiates coverage of Avolta with a “Buy” rating—target price CHF 55
Stifel raises Lonza to CHF 680 (650)—‘Buy’
Kühne+Nagel price target: Research Partners upgrades to CHF 227 (203)—‘Hold’


Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.