Nvidia must meet new security requirements before sending its H200 artificial-intelligence chips to China, the Trump administration said. Under the rules, Nvidia must make sure there is sufficient supply of AI chips in the U.S., and its customers have to demonstrate adequate security procedures before semiconductors are shipped, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in a rule published Tuesday. Nvidia will also have to get its products tested by an outside lab in the U.S. to make sure they meet performance parameters. The rules governing Nvidia’s exports are the next step in the U.S. government allowing the company to resume shipments to China. Exports have effectively been halted since April, denting Nvidia’s business in the world’s second-largest economy and pinching Chinese AI companies that want the chips to train their models. The government is also getting a 25% cut of Nvidia’s sales, part of the deal that is also necessitating a thorough security review and unusual shipment process. Those steps are needed so the 25% is charged like a tariff when chips are sent from Taiwan, where they are manufactured, back to the U.S. before they are exported to China.

On Tuesday, the SMI lost 0.5 percent to 13,365 points. Sika reported a decline in sales for 2025 and further alarmed investors with a profit warning. Sika shares plummeted 9.5 percent, dragging down other shares in the building materials sector. Amrize, Holcim, and Geberit declined by up to 2.6 percent. Novartis and Roche posted losses of 0.2 and 0.5 percent. Nestlé, on the other hand, managed to turn things around and closed 0.3 percent higher. Investors sold off insurance stocks. Swiss Life, Swiss Re, and Zurich lost up to 2 percent. Richemont managed to finish with a small gain of 0.1 percent after having risen more significantly at times. Analysts at Jefferies were confident that the luxury goods group would present encouraging figures for its third fiscal quarter on January 15. Givaudan (unchanged) was supported by its German competitor Symrise, which had announced a share buyback.

Europe
European stock markets closed largely unchanged on Tuesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 610.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 ended the day virtually unchanged. VUSION (-10%, at €165.70): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded its recommendation on the electronic label specialist's stock from “outperform” to “neutral,” while reducing its target price from €275 to €210. EXAIL TECHNOLOGIES (-7.3%): The civil and military robotics specialist announced on Tuesday that it had raised a nominal amount of €200 million in the form of perpetual bonds with the option of redemption in cash and/or new and/or existing shares (Odirnanes). VINCI (-4.5%, to €116.55): Bank of America Securities (BofA) downgraded the construction and concessions group Vinci from “buy” to “underperform,” lowering its target price from €128 to €120. THALES (-2.2% to €264.20): On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank downgraded its recommendation on the technology and defense group Thales from “buy” to “hold” and lowered its target price from €285 to €280. AIRBUS (+1.9%): The aerospace and defense group announced on Monday evening that it had delivered 793 commercial aircraft in 2025, compared with 766 the previous year, representing an increase of nearly 4% year-on-year. In early December, the aerospace and defense group had revised its target downwards to around 790 deliveries.

United States
Financial stocks weighed on indexes Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase’s results left investors disappointed. The nation’s largest bank posted lower profit and a surprise drop in investment-banking fees before the opening bell, and its shares closed 4.2% lower. The broader financial sector fell 1.8%. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to close below Monday’s record. The Dow dropped 0.8%, or 398 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was 0.1% lower. A relatively benign December inflation report out Tuesday was welcomed by investors. Headline prices rose 2.7% from a year earlier, in line with expectations and unchanged from the prior month’s rate. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also held at the prior month’s rate, rather than accelerating as forecast. While the consumer-price index remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, it has trended down over the long term. Among single stocks, chip makers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel outperformed, closing 6.4% and 7.3% higher, respectively. Visa and Mastercard were some of the S&P 500’s worst performers, dropping 4.5% and 3.8%, respectively, after Trump floated the idea of capping credit-card interest rates at 10% to reporters on Monday.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 adds 1.4 percent and jumps above the 54,000-point mark for the first time. Electronics and engineering stocks lead the gains in Tokyo. Advantest rises 5.3 percent and Fanuc 4.2 percent. The yen weakened slightly on the currency market. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng climbed 0.4 percent. Alibaba jumped 4.5 percent. The Kospi (Seoul) added 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite closed unchanged.

Bonds
U.S. government bonds saw some demand on Tuesday in light of losses on the stock market. The 10-year Treasury note yield decreased by one basis point to 4.17 percent.

Analysis
Swatch target price: Barclays raises to CHF 119 (108) – Underweight
ABB target price: Royal Bank of Canada increases to CHF 55 (54) – Sector Perform
Sensirion target price: JPMorgan lowers to CHF 81 (86) – Neutral

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