Nestlé gained momentum in the third quarter of 2026. The world’s largest food company posted organic growth of 4.0 percent, up from 3.7 percent in the previous quarter. So-called real internal growth (RIG) reached 2.8 percent, as Nestlé announced on Thursday. In the second quarter, it had stood at 1.8 percent, following 1.2 percent in the first quarter. With these figures, Nestlé significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations. On average, analysts had expected organic growth of only 3.5 percent and volume growth of 1.7 percent for the third quarter. The momentum was driven primarily by a recovery in the pet food business, strong performance in food and snacks such as Maggi seasoning and KitKat, as well as the water business, which benefited from the hot summer. As expected, management reaffirmed its 2026 annual targets. The company continues to anticipate organic growth of 3 to 4 percent and an improvement in the adjusted operating margin compared to the prior-year figure of 16.1 percent. Moreover, Nestlé will exclude its Russian business from its consolidated financial statements as of the end of September 2026.

On Wednesday, the SMI went up 0.5 percent to 14,552 points. The defensive heavyweights Roche (+0.5%), Novartis (+0.3%), and Nestlé (+0.4%) posted only modest gains. Roche received some support from positive study data on fenebrutinib. Alcon is acquiring the U.S. biotechnology company Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, but its stock price barely moved, rising 0.3 percent. Sika also announced an acquisition; the specialty chemicals provider is taking over the adhesives division of Japan’s Resonac for the Asian market—its stock advanced 0.7 percent. Adecco surged 9.1 percent—traders attributed the rally to strong financial results from competitor Randstad. Technology stocks were in demand across Europe. In the SMI, Logitech edged up 1.6 percent. Among sector stocks outside the benchmark index, Inficon climbed 2.6 percent, VAT increased 0.9 percent, and AMS Osram surged 4 percent. Thanks to positive analyst comments, Comet ticked up 3.7 percent.

Europe
European stock markets closed firmly in positive territory on Wednesday. According to MarketWatch data, the Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.9% to 644.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 1.1% and 1%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 advanced 1.4%, and the FTSE 100 added 0.2% in London. ESSILORLUXOTTICA (+15.5%): The manufacturer of eyeglasses and corrective lenses reported on Tuesday evening that its third-quarter revenue growth exceeded analysts’ expectations, thanks to sales of smart glasses and strong performance in the Asian market. CARREFOUR (-13.80%): the retailer issued a profit warning on Tuesday evening regarding its 2026 results, citing “the deterioration of the social and security situation in France,” after posting higher revenue in the third quarter. MICHELIN (-7.2%): Sales volumes for the tire manufacturer in the third quarter of the year fell short of analysts’ expectations, according to Deutsche Bank. During the third quarter of 2026, Michelin’s sales volumes declined by 0.6% year-over-year. ATOS (+13.8%): The digital services group confirmed its financial targets for 2026, buoyed by the slowing decline in its revenue and its cash flow generation in the third quarter.

United States
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.1% on Wednesday and is now almost all of the way back from where it stood before Friday’s brutal selloff. The S&P 500 index rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%, or 360.21 points. SpaceX ended Wednesday up 7.8% after the company followed an earnings report revealing $14.6 billion in quarterly revenue with an evening conference call that delivered even more good news: Musk predicted SpaceX would bring in more than $500 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2027 and just might merge with Tesla. Tesla gained 3.4% on Wednesday. The car-maker’s shares continued to climb in after-hours trading after it reported flat revenue in the third quarter but surprised investors by producing positive free cash flow despite its heavy investments on AI and robotics. A deal between SpaceX and Tesla would be the largest merger ever, Musk said. Tesla has a market valuation of around $1.5 trillion, while SpaceX is valued at around $2 trillion. Even if shareholders were open to a deal, such a huge combination would draw regulatory scrutiny based on its size and scale. There were bullish nuggets in Anthropic’s IPO filing, said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. The Journal reported Tuesday afternoon that a draft of the filing reveals a company growing at a red-hot pace. Anthropic had $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026, the document showed. Chip-makers Advanced Micro Devices AMD and Texas Instruments TXN and chip-tester Teradyne TER saw gains of 3.4%, 2.5% and 2.6% respectively.

Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Thursday. The Kospi is plunging 3.5 percent. In Hong Kong, the HSI is slipping 2.9 percent. Tokyo is holding up slightly better, with the broad-based Topix losing 0.7 percent. In Shanghai, the market is down 0.9 percent. Shares of Tesla suppliers are also posting losses following the electric carmaker’s cautious outlook for the robotics and chip manufacturing sectors. In Seoul, shares of battery manufacturers LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI plummeted 6.0 percent, while in Tokyo, Panasonic plunged 4.9 percent.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 5.145% from 5.116%.

Analysis
ABB Price Target: Oddo BHF lowers to 80 (89) CHF - Neutral
Comet Price Target: Kepler Cheuvreux raises to 505 (500) CHF - Buy
DKSH Rating: Exane BNP raises to Outperform (Neutral) - Target 82 (64) CHF

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.