Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X Tuesday that the country's Supreme National Security Council agreed to cease attacks and allow "safe passage" of ships through the Strait of Hormuz coordinated by Iran's Armed Forces for two weeks. Just minutes earlier, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran reopening of the strait. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that negotiations with the U.S. will start Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. The council said the two-week cease-fire could be extended if both sides agree. Markets cheer Trump's cease-fire. European stock futures were higher after Asia stocks rose. The dollar weakened. Gold rose and oil fell.

Following the long Easter break, the Swiss stock market closed sharply lower on Tuesday after a highly volatile trading session, driven by rising oil prices. The SMI dropped 1.5 percent to 12,790 points. Faced with new US tariff threats targeting pharmaceuticals, shares in Roche and Novartis fell by 2.1 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. Boosted by strong financial results from South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics, Logitech bucked the market trend, closing down just 0.3 percent. Among technology stocks, AMS Osram rose 0.2 percent. Ems-Chemie (-1.3%) reported mixed financial results. Implenia remained in positive territory for a long time but then closed 0.8 percent lower. The construction group had secured a contract worth over 200 million euros in Germany.

Europe
European stock markets took a dip on Tuesday following a long weekend, as the conflict in the Middle East could reach a turning point in a matter of hours. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1% to 590.59 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each declined by 0.7%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 slipped 1.1%, while the FTSE 100 shed 0.8% in London. BOLLORE (+3.8%), VIVENDI (+9.1%): Pershing Square, the fund run by American billionaire Bill Ackman, announced Tuesday that it had submitted a €55 billion bid for Universal Music Group (UMG). The “non-binding” offer was submitted to UMG’s supervisory board, Pershing Square said in a statement. The Bolloré Group is the record label’s largest shareholder with an 18.5% stake, ahead of Tencent (11.4%) and Vivendi (9.9%). APERAM (+1.4%): Stainless steel producer Aperam confirmed Thursday evening that it expects an increase in its adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, when it stood at €67 million. Aperam noted that the consensus estimate for EBITDA it compiled stood at €89 million for the first quarter. EXOSENS (+1.15%): The manufacturer of high-tech sensors for the defense and nuclear sectors announced Thursday evening that it had received a record order for digital imaging solutions for interceptor drones from a major European player in autonomous air defense systems. Neither the name of the customer nor the value of the order was disclosed.

United States
Global markets were on edge as President Trump's deadline to reach a truce with Iran quickly approaches. Stocks turned higher to finish the day near flat after Pakistan's prime minister called on President Trump to extend his Iran deadline for two weeks. The Nasdaq composite finished 0.1% higher after trading more than 1% lower early in the day. The S&P 500 also added 0.1%, with both indexes notching their fifth straight session of gains. The Dow industrials pared losses, finishing 0.2% lower on the day. Apple dropped 2.1% after Nikkei Asia reported that the iPhone maker’s long-awaited foldable phone had encountered engineering challenges and could face shipping delays. UnitedHealth Group jumped 9.4%. The federal government on Monday pledged to pay insurers in the Medicare program an average increase of 2.48% next year, well above an originally proposed rate of just 0.09% in January. Fellow insurers Humana and CVS Health advanced 7.9% and 6.7%, respectively. Centene rose 2.6%, while Elevance Health added 3.1%. Broadcom was up 6.2%. A filing late Monday revealed the chip maker had extended its collaboration with Alphabet through 2031. Broadcom has co-designed artificial-intelligence chips alongside the Google parent since 2016. Intel advanced 4.2%. The chip maker announced Tuesday that it would partner with Elon Musk on his Terafab semiconductor plant, jointly developed by Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX. Cruise stocks were falling broadly. Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean fell 3.3%, 3%, and 2.9%, respectively, as hopes for a swift end to the war in Iran dissipated and concerns over elevated fuel costs crept back into the market. Casey’s General Stores fell 0.8%. The Iowa-based convenience store chain will replace medical technology company Hologic in the S&P 500 before trading opens on Thursday, S&P Dow Jones Indices said.

Asia
Asian markets breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after President Trump announced a cease-fire with Iran, buoying stocks and sending oil lower on hopes that an end to the conflict is in sight. In Tokyo, the Topix is up 3.3 percent; the Seoul stock market is rebounding the most, with the South Korean KOSPI—considered particularly tech-heavy—jumping 6.8 percent. In Hong Kong, the HSI gains 2.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite rises by just under 2 percent. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX-200 climbs 2.7 percent. Among individual tech stocks in Seoul, Samsung and SK Hynix are surging by 7.1 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. This is further driven by Samsung’s strong quarterly results from the previous day. In Tokyo, semiconductor stock Advantest soars 11.5 percent, while shares of technology investor SoftBank shoot up 7.8 percent. Across the region, energy sector stocks are among the decliners due to falling oil prices. In Tokyo, Inpex dropped 6.0 percent; in Hong Kong, CNOOC slumped 6.9 percent; and in Sydney, Woodside Energy tumbled 11.4 percent.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields slipped in tandem with oil prices. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped by 2 basis points to 4.31%. According to Blackrock strategists, however, the impact of high energy prices is likely to be reflected in the U.S. inflation data for March, which will be released on Friday.

Analysis
SGS price target: Goldman Sachs lowers to CHF 97 (98) – Neutral
Geberit price target: Goldman Sachs reduces to CHF 619 (657) – Buy
Sika price target: Barclays downgrades to CHF 150 (170) – Equal Weight

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