The Italian regulatory authority AGCM has launched an investigation into the joint 5G rollout project between Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) and Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb. The investigation aims to determine whether the collaboration impairs competition, according to the authority’s weekly bulletin released on Monday. TIM and Fastweb announced their collaboration on the 5G rollout earlier this year. The aim was, in particular, to advance coverage in less densely populated areas. Additionally, under the agreement, each operator in the relevant areas could use the other’s radio access network (RAN) to avoid duplication of effort. Swisscom expected the collaboration to yield annual savings in the mid-double-digit millions of euros in the medium term. The competition authorities can now approve the cooperation, impose conditions, modify the agreement, or even prohibit it entirely. The competition authorities’ proceedings are expected to be concluded by April 30, 2027, at the latest.

The SMI closed Monday virtually unchanged at 13,101 points. Richemont dropped 2.6 percent, weighed down by the surprisingly sharp rise in Chinese consumer prices in April. China is a key market for the luxury goods manufacturer. Swatch gave up 4.1 percent. The 3 percent decline in Swiss Life shares was due to the dividend payout of 36.50 francs. Other insurers, however, gained ground. Swiss Re rose by 0.5 percent and Zurich by 1.1 percent. The pharmaceutical heavyweights Novartis (+0.3%) and Roche (+1.3%) were in demand. Shares of the equally heavyweight food conglomerate Nestlé, however, slipped 1.8 percent. Among smaller caps, Ams-Osram benefited from a positive analyst comment. Jefferies had upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Hold,” causing the share price to jump 13.2 percent.

Europe
European stock markets closed mixed on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% to 612.79 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.7% and the SBF 120 lost 0.6%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.05%, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.4% in London. BOUYGUES (+1.35% to 50.92 euros): The road construction company Colas, part of the diversified group, announced on Monday that its Finnish subsidiary Destia, along with its partners, had won the contract for the second phase of the project to build the western section of the tramway in the city of Vantaa, Finland. The total value of the project is estimated at approximately €750 million, with Destia’s share amounting to around €433 million. Defense stocks continued their downward slide. Rheinmetall shed another 2.7 percent having fallen nearly 10 percent on Friday. Hensoldt (-3%) and Renk (-3.8%) saw even steeper declines. Marine shipbuilding company TKMS’s shares plunged 6.6 percent following second-quarter results, even though the company managed to improve its margin amid strong revenue growth. The trend was seen across Europe: Leonardo in Milan dropped 3.5 percent and Kongsberg in Oslo slumped 4.1 percent.

United States
On Monday, stocks nudged to new records, with rising energy shares and reinvigorated enthusiasm for the artificial-intelligence trade boosting major indexes. Chip-maker stocks extended their blistering rally: Shares of Micron Technology jumped 6.5%, while Qualcomm rose 8.4%. The S&P advanced 0.2% to a new all-time high. The Nasdaq composite also notched a new record, edging 0.1% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2%, or around 95 points. Traders have shrugged off risks, their optimism bolstered by a resilient labor market and recent crop of standout corporate earnings. With the first-quarter earnings season drawing to a close, S&P 500 companies are exceeding profit estimates by 18.2% in aggregate, according to FactSet analysts, well above the five-year average of 7.3%. Moderna (MRNA): Shares of the biomedical company, which has been researching vaccines to protect against hantaviruses since before a recent cruise-ship outbreak, fell nearly 3% by the close of Monday's markets. Intel (INTC), Micron Technology (MU): Shares of the chipmakers climbed nearly 4% amid continued enthusiasm for companies tied to AI. Both stocks finished at closing records Friday. Lumentum (LITE): Shares of Lumentum Holdings led the S&P 500, surging 17%, with Coherent and Corning also up double-digits, as data centers drive demand for optical networking providers. Lumentum is also being added to the Nasdaq 100 index.

Asia
Asian indexes diverged for the Tuesday trading session. After hitting another all-time high and gaining about 1.7 percent, South Korea’s Kospi is now down 2.6 percent—at one point, the decline had reached nearly 4 percent. Japanese stocks, on the other hand, are gaining ground, with the Nikkei 225 climbing 0.6 percent to 62,811 points. In Japan, chip and metal stocks are once again in demand. Renesas Electronics is up 7.9 percent, and Sumitomo Metal Mining has added 5.2 percent. In China, the HSI in Hong Kong climbed 0.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.4 percent.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Monday. The 10-year Treasury note yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.41%. Traders now see a less than 5% chance that the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch.

Analysis
Target price for AMS Osram: Vontobel raises to CHF 14 (9.30) – Hold
Target price for Amrize: Barclays lowers to CHF 42 (44) – Equal Weight
Target price for Lonza: Vontobel reduces to CHF 650 (670) – Buy

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