General Motors will run its heavy-duty truck plant in Michigan six days a week starting in June, citing strong demand for its most powerful pickups even as gas and diesel prices rise. Flint Assembly plant currently runs around the clock on three shifts, five days a week. The additional production day will allow the plant to churn out more Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. The plant produces the heavy-duty versions of those trucks, the 2500 and 3500, with about 1,100 a day rolling off the line, according to a United Auto Workers official. “General Motors is making strategic adjustments to Flint Assembly’s production schedule to align with strong customer demand,” a GM spokesman said. GM is increasing production at a time when U.S. gas prices have risen by more than 30% since the start of the Iran conflict in late February. Forecasters say U.S. new-vehicle sales will fall about 6.5% in the first quarter from a year earlier. GM’s stock is down about 10% so far this year.

After a slightly sluggish start and a subsequent brief spell in positive territory, the Swiss market very nearly slipped below the flat line around noon on Monday. However, it recovered swiftly and traded firm still the end of the session thanks to strong buying at a few top counters. The benchmark SMI, which edged down to 12,539.47 in early trades, ended the day with a gain of 98.41 points or 0.78% at 12,668.67, nearly 20 points of the session's high of 12,687.68. Kuehne + Nagel, up nearly 3%, was the top gainer in the SMI index. Nestle and Swiss Re moved up 2.25% and 2%, respectively. Givudan, Sonova and Zurich Insurance gained 1.7%-1.85%. Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, Lonza Group, Sika and Lindt & Spruengli climbed 1.2%-1.5%. Schindler Ps, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Swisscom, SGS, UBS Group and Alcon closed up by 0.6%-0.8%. Roche gained about 0.5%. The company announced the launch of the cobas MPX-E assay, a screening test designed to meet the evolving needs of modern laboratories and, through increased sensitivity and specificity, help to prevent HEV transmission through blood transfusions. VAT Group ended down by about 4.1%. ABB drifted lower by 1.52%. Richemont closed 0.6% down.

Europe
Despite weak Eurozone economic sentiment data and the ongoing war in the Middle East, European stocks gained some significant ground in positive territory on Monday. The upmove was supported by some bargain hunting at several counters following recent declines. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.94%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 1.61%, Germany's DAX closed up by 1.18% and France's CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.92%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.78%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher. Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Türkiye closed weak. In the UK market, Burberry Group, LSEG, Centrica, British Land, Land Securities, SSE, Experian, Relx, BAE Systems, Severn Trent, Admiral Group and BP gained 3%-4.5%. Rio Tinto gained about 3.5%. The mining giant said operations at three of its four Pilbara iron ore port terminals have resumed after Tropical Cyclone Narelle passed over Western Australia's Pilbara region. National Grid, Glencore, AstraZeneca, United Utilities, Haleon, Pearson and AutoTrader Group were among the several other notable gainers. Antofagasta drifted down 3.2%. IAG, Airtel Africa, Lion Finance Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Smiths Group lost 1%-2%. In the German market, RWE, Scout24, Hannover RE, Vonovia, Deutsche Boerse, Rheinmetall, SAP, Munich RE, Symrise, E.ON, Merck, Beirsdorf, Bayer, Brenntag and Fresenius gained 2%-3.5%. Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, Qiagen, BASF, Gea Group, Deutsche Post and Adidas also posted strong gains. Siemens Energy and Commerzbank shed about 2.7% and 1.2%, respectively.

United States
Stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Monday but gave back ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ending the day in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 153.72 points or 0.7 percent to 20,794.64 and the S&P 500 fell 25.13 points or 0.4 percent to 6,343.72, dropping to their lowest closing levels in nearly eight months. The narrower Dow, on the other hand, inched up 49.50 points or 0.1 percent to 45,216.14 after briefly dipping into the red in the final hour of trading. Bargain hunting contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. Optimistic comments from President Donald Trump about the war in the Middle East also generated some early buying interest. Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social this morning that the U.S. has made 'great progress' in discussions with a 'new, and more reasonable, regime' to end military operations in Iran. Semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 4.2 percent to its lowest closing level in almost three months. Computer hardware and networking stocks also saw substantial weakness, contributing to the slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Despite the continued surge by the price of crude oil, oil service stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunging by 3.3 percent. Airline stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks turned in strong performances.

Asia
Asian stock markets are mostly down in late trading on Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 has fallen by 1.4 per cent to 51,186 points amid ongoing concerns over rising energy costs and a shortage of petrochemical products due to the war in the Middle East.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries showed a significant rebound following the weakness seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, plunged 9.8 basis points to 4.342 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers Kardex target price to 357 (360) CHF – Buy
Bank of America upgrades Orsted to Buy (from Neutral) – Target price 180 (155) DKK
Bank of America upgrades Hensoldt to Buy (from Neutral)

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