Holcim is acquiring German building materials group Xella from private equity firm Lone Star. The transaction is valued at €1.85 billion. The acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on Holcim's earnings per share and free cash flow in the first year and to contribute positively to return on capital from the third year onwards. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Xella's brands include Ytong, Silka, Hebel, and Multipor. The company employs more than 4,000 people. “This strategic acquisition is a milestone in our vision to be the leading partner for sustainable construction and accelerates the expansion of our high-value-added Building Solutions business in line with our Nextgen Growth 2030 strategy,” said Miljan Gutovic, CEO Holcim.

The Swiss market ended weak on Friday, in line with markets across Europe, as concerns about the health of U.S. regional banks hurt sentiment and triggered a sell-off in financials stocks across the globe. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to a low of 12,476.92, staged a smart recovery, but still ended the day's session on a negative note at 12,644.49, losing 57.59 points or 0.45%. Partners Group ended 3.57% down, and UBS Group lost 3.2%. Julius Baer, VAT Group and Amrize closed lower by 2.88%, 2.45%, and 2.19%, respectively. Holcim, Swiss Re, Swiss Life Holding, ABB, Straumann Holding, Galderma Group, Geberit and Alcon lost 1 to 2%. Nestle gained nearly 2%. Lonza Group, Givaudan, Kuehne + Nagel and Swisscom closed higher by 0.7 to 1%. SGS moved up 0.32%.

Europe
European markets closed weak on Friday, with bank stocks posting losses amid concerns about the health of U.S. credit markets. Concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions, and the ongoing war in Ukraine also weighed on sentiment. The temporary reprieve the newly formed French government got after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday helped limit French market's downside. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended nearly 1% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.86% down, Germany's DAX lost 1.82%, and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.18%. Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.45%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye all ended weak. Russia bucked the trend and closed sharply higher. In the UK market, Barclays ended 5.6% down. Standard Chartered, Natwest Group, HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking Group lost 2.4 to 3.5%. Fresnillo plunged more than 10%. ICG, Endeavour Mining, Antofagasta, BAE Systems, Schroders, IAG, Anglo American Plc, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Babcock International lost 3 to 5.6%. Pearson, Haleon, Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola HBC, Smiths Group, Unilever and Burberry Group closed with strong gains. In the German market, Deutsche Bank and Commerz Bank tumbled 6% and 3.7%, respectively. Rheinmetall lost nearly 7%. Allianz, Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens, Daimler Truck Holding, Infineon, Heidelberg Materials, Gea Group, Munich RE, Zalando and RWE also closed sharply lower. Continental soared more than 11%, buoyed by a rating upgrade of the stock by Deutsche Bank to 'buy'. In the French market, Societe Generale lost more than 5%. BNP Paribas ended nearly 4% down.

United States
After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages all moved to the upside, regaining ground following the downturn seen in the previous session. The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still firmly in positive territory. The Dow advanced 238.37 points or 0.5 percent to 46,190.61, the Nasdaq climbed 117.44 points or 0.5 percent to 22,679.97 and the S&P 500 rose 34.94 points or 0.5 percent to 6,664.01. With the rebound on the day, the major averages posted strong gains for the week. The Nasdaq surged by 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow jumped by 1.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as the concerns about bad loans that dragged the markets lower on Thursday seemed to evaporate as quickly as they materialized. Shares of banking stocks like Jefferies (JEF) and Zion Bancorp (ZION) showed strong moves back to the upside after leading the markets lower in the previous session. Jefferies and Zion benefitted from positive analyst comments, while banks like Truist Financial (TFC), Fifth Third (FITB) and Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) also moved higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. Stocks also benefited from easing concerns about the trade dispute between the U.S. and China following the latest comments from President Donald Trump. Despite the strength that emerged in the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Asia
East Asian stock markets are off to a strong start at the beginning of the new week. Significant losses at the end of last week have been more than offset. The Australian stock market is lagging somewhat behind, with the stock market barometer rising by only 0.2 per cent. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo jumped 2.9 per cent to a new record high of 48,958 points. The Hong Kong HSI jumped 2.4 per cent, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7 per cent and the Kospi in Seoul improved by 1.4 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries gave back ground amid profit taking following yesterday's advance. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.1 basis points to 4.007 percent.

Analysis
Bank of America raises Essilorluxottica to Buy (Neutral) – Target EUR 342 (284)
Morgan Stanley lowers Aurubis to Underweight (Equalweight) – Target EUR 95 (98)
UBS raises target for Intesa Sanpaolo to EUR 6 (5.85) – Buy

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