Nestlé said Chairman Paul Bulcke would step down after the Swiss giant’s abrupt ouster of former Chief Executive Laurent Freixe earlier this month. The maker of Nescafe coffee and Purina pet food said Tuesday that Pablo Isla would replace Bulcke as chairman effective Oct. 1, earlier than planned. Bulcke had overseen a probe that weeks ago led to Freixe’s firing over what the company called an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate that breached the group’s code of conduct. Nestlé had appointed Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé Nespresso, to succeed Freixe in the top job. “I have full trust in Nestlés new leadership and firmly believe this great company is well positioned for the future,” Bulcke said. “This is the right moment for me to step aside and accelerate the planned transition, allowing Pablo and Philipp to advance Nestlés strategy and guide the company with a fresh perspective.” Meanwhile, the company appointed Dick Boer as lead independent director and vice chairman of the board of directors as of Oct. 1, while Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch was appointed vice chair of the board.

On Tuesday, the SMI lost 1 percent to 12,019 points. Of the 21 SMI stocks, 17 lost ground and four gained. A total of 17.25 (previously: 17.62) million shares were traded. Investors sold off cyclical stocks as well as defensive stocks. Among the heavyweights in the SMI, Nestlé fell 0.1 percent. Novartis and Roche each shed 0.8 percent. The three insurers Swiss Life, Swiss Re, and Zurich posted losses of up to 3.1 percent. UBS shares dropped by 2 percent. Logitech shares were among the few winners in the SMI. They added 0.7 percent after UBS analysts raised their price target from CHF 91 to CHF 100. Swisscom (-0.1%) was unimpressed by the fact that the Swiss Competition Commission (Weko) had dropped an investigation into the company’s price policy. The authority concluded that Swisscom had neither imposed unreasonable prices nor discriminated against trading partners in connection with broadband connections for networking company locations (so-called WAN II connections). A cost-price gap could not be proven.

Europe
European stock markets ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with nervousness rising ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcements. The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined by 1.1% to 550.8 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 each lost 1%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 plunged 1.8% and the FTSE 100 shed 0.9% in London. VUSIONGROUP (+13.7%): The electronic label specialist raised its business and profitability targets for 2025 after posting strong first-half results, thanks to robust activity in North America. L'OREAL (-2.9%): Jefferies downgraded its recommendation on the world's leading cosmetics company from “hold” to “underperform” and lowered its target price from €371 to €340. The valuation of L'Oréal shares, at nearly 30 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, is not justified given the potential of the global beauty market and the group's weak outperformance, according to the bank's analysts. BUREAU VERITAS (-1.4%): Investment company Wendel sold 23.3 million shares in the certification and quality control group for a total of around €591 million. The transaction was carried out at a discount of 3.6% compared to Bureau Veritas' closing price on Monday evening.

United States
Stocks’ record run took a breather on Tuesday while the Federal Reserve kicked off its September meeting. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, or 126 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was off 0.1%, ending a six-day win streak. The September Fed meeting features an unusual level of drama: An appeals court blocked President Trump from removing Fed governor Lisa Cook late Monday, clearing the way for her to participate. Indexes have notched a series of records in recent weeks in part due to investors’ enthusiasm over the prospect of lower rates, which many are betting will reheat the economy. August retail-sales data out Tuesday came in much stronger than expected, showing that while the labor market may be showing signs of weakness, consumer spending is still strong. Energy was the best-performing S&P 500 sector Tuesday, rising 1.7% along with the price of oil amid Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries that have raised concerns about tighter supply. Occidental Petroleum shares gained 5%. Utilities stocks lagged behind. So did Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, giving up some gains after rallying last week when The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount was preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Gold prices set another record above $3,688 a troy ounce. The precious metal has gained 40% this year amid inflation jitters, on pace for its best annual performance since 1979.

Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Wednesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 44,995.79, up 93.52 points or 0.21 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down more than 1 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. Hong Kong is up 1.2 percent, while China and Malaysia are up 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields were largely steady, with the benchmark 10-year yield little changed at 4,03%. The central bank is still widely expected to cut rates by a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday, when Fed officials conclude their two-day meeting. The Fed's expected rate cut Wednesday may be straightforward, but Chair Jerome Powell must navigate contentious disagreements over future policy amid a spectacle over who will succeed him when his term ends in May.

Analysis
Price target Sandoz: JPMorgan upgrades to 55 (46) CHF - Overweight
Price target Logitech: UBS raises to 100 (91) CHF - Buy
R&S price target: UBS downgrades to 41.50 (45) CHF - Buy
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