Nvidia and OpenAI, two U.S. giants powering America’s race for AI superintelligence, outlined an expansive partnership Monday, including plans for an enormous data center buildout and a $100 billion investment by the chip maker into the startup. The deal announced Monday will allow OpenAI to build and deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems for its artificial-intelligence data centers to train and run its next generation of models. That amount of electricity is roughly comparable to what is produced by more than four Hoover Dams or the power consumed by eight million homes. “This is a giant project,” Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said Monday in an appearance on CNBC, calling OpenAI the “fastest-growing software company in history.” The partnership is a bet on continued model improvements, essentially that investments of hundreds of billions of dollars from investors, companies, governments and Wall Street financiers will create AI models that are smarter than humans. That bet runs contrary to the view of some skeptics who say model development is hitting a wall. Nvidia’s investment into OpenAI envisions a future where adoption of AI products will continue to surge among users, profoundly transforming society as economies are far more reliant on computing power than they are today.

The Swiss market ended marginally up on Monday, despite struggling a bit early on in the session, and then for a few minutes in the final hour. The mood in the market remained cautious as investors awaited some crucial European and U.S. economic data. Concerns about geopolitical tensions limited market's upside. The benchmark SMI closed up by 16.47 points or 0.14% at 12,126.14. The index climbed to 12,172.99 around mid afternoon. VAT Group climbed about 3%. Roche Holding advanced 2.3%, while ABB, Sandoz Group and Swatch Group gained 0.9 to 1.1%. Swiss Life Holding, Kuehne + Nagel, Alcon, Novartis and Swiss Re posted moderate gains. Amrize ended lower by 3.6%. Julius Baer, Galderma Group, Straumann Holding, Givaudan, Sika, Swisscom, Snova, Partners Group, SGS, Nestle and Lindt & Spruengli lost 1 to 1.7%.

Europe
European stocks closed mostly weak on Monday amid geopolitical tensions, and the Trump administration's announcement of sweeping changes to the H-1B visa regime. Profit warnings by a few major auto companies weighed as well. The mood remained cautious with investors awaiting some key data, including reports on manufacturing and services sector activity in major European economies, and a reading on U.S. inflation. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.1% down. Germany's DAX closed down by 0.67%, and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.2%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.13%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.14% up. Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Russia and Spain ended weak. Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher. Belgium, Netherlands, Poland and Sweden ended flat. In the UK market, Diageo, Haleon, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, M&G, Unilever, Smith & Nephew, British American Tobacco, Croda International, Barratt Redrow and Easyjet closed down by 1% to 2%. Miners had a good session as metal prices rose to record highs. Endeavour Mining surged nearly 7%. Fresnillo climbed about 4.5%. Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta gained 2.1%, 2%, and 1.6%, respectively. St. James's Place climbed nearly 3%. AstraZeneca, Airtel Africa, 3i Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust and Hikma Pharmaceuticals climbed 1% to 2%. In the German market, Volkswagen lost about 7% after the company adjusted its 2025 forecast. Porsche Automobil Holding closed lower by about 8% after dialing back plans for its electric vehicle rollout due to weaker demand. Brenntag, Commerzbank, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Heidelberg Materials, Daimler Truck Holding and SAP lost 1 to 2%. GEA Group and Scout24 SE, the two new entrants to the DAX fold, gained about 2.5% each. RWE also ended nearly 2.5% up. Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines, Merck, Rheinmetall and Zalando also closed on firm note. In the French market, Teleperformance, Pernod Ricard, Stellantis, Accor, L'Oreal, Capgemini, Carrefour, Danone, Renault and Michelin declined sharply.

United States
After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Monday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge, the major averages all reached new record closing highs. The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq advanced 157.50 points or 0.7 percent to 22,788.98, the S&P 500 climbed 29.39 points or 0.4 percent to 6,693.75 and the narrower Dow inched up 66.27 points or 0.1 percent to 46,381.54. Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, with some traders looking to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for the markets amid expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. After cutting rates by a quarter point last Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to lower rates by another quarter at each of its next two meetings in October and December. Later this week, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation, which could impact the outlook for rates. Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, contributing to the advanced by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. On the other hand, housing stocks saw significant weakness on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.5 percent to a one-month closing low.

Asia
Asian stock markets presented a mixed picture on Tuesday. While Seoul and Sydney saw slight gains, Chinese stock markets recorded more significant losses. Following the recent positive development, participants point to ongoing profit-taking, which is weighing particularly heavily on the technology sector. The Shanghai Composite fell by 1.2 per cent and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by a further 0.9 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction after trending lower over the past few sessions. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, eventually ended the day up by less than a basis point at 4.143 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Auto1 target to EUR 34.60 (32.10) – Buy
Citi raises Santander target to EUR 9.65 (7.20) – Buy
JPMorgan lowers DHL target to EUR 47.50 (48.50) – Overweight

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