Home Depot reported lower fiscal first-quarter profit and Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said in an interview that homeowners are continuing to pull back on large home-improvement projects due to economic uncertainty. “When we talk to our customers, they do tell us that they have concerns over uncertainty and housing affordability. They point out that fuel costs are rising, mortgage rates have risen again after falling throughout 2025, and layoffs are increasing,” McPhail said. “And as a result, they tell us they’re continuing to hold off on larger projects.” McPhail said homeowners continue to show interest in improving their home, as evidenced by strong sales in outdoor categories and paint, but that hesitation in undertaking larger projects was leading to weakness in lumber, flooring, lighting and millwork. Home Depot has long cited a surge in home equity in recent years as a potential tailwind for home-improvement demand. McPhail said homeowners are starting to tap more of their home equity but that those extractions are rising more for consumers with lower credit scores. He said it appears those funds are being used more for debt consolidation than they are for home-improvement projects.

The Swiss stock market's benchmark index SMI closed on a strong note on Tuesday after staying positive right through the day's session thanks to sustained buying at several counters. The SMI, which climbed to a high of 13,425.38 intraday, settled at 13,364.80, gaining 124.10 points or 0.94%. Lonza Group climbed 4.21%. Sonova moved up 3.52%, while Alcon and Roche gained 2.72% and 2.4%, respectively. Nestle ended 2.1% up. Straumann Holding moved up nearly 2%, while Novartis and Givaudan gained 1.57% and 1.49%, respectively. SGG, Galderma Group, Swiss Re, Lindt & Spruengli, Schindler Ps, Partners Group and Swisscom also ended on firm note. Geberit and ABB drifted down by 1.81% and 1.7%, respectively. Kuehne + Nagel, Julius Baer and Swiss Life Holding lost 1.27%, 1.12% and 1.05%, respectively. Logitech International and Amrize also ended notably lower.

Europe
Despite spending much of the day's trading session well above the flat line, the major European markets ended on a mixed note on Tuesday with stocks paring gains as the mood turned cautious amid uncertainty about a U.S.-Iran peace deal. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.19%. The UK's FTSE 100 settled 0.07% up, and Germany's DAX climbed 0.38%, while France's CAC 40 ended down by 0.07%. Switzerland's SMI jumped 0.94%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Sweden ended higher. Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Türkiye closed weak. In the UK market, IG Group Holdings soared 10.5% following the company raising its full-year 2026 organic revenue growth outlook to 10-15% on a 2025 base of approximately £1.10 billion. Diploma gained 3.2%. The Specialist distribution group reported solid half-year earnings and raised its guidance. Airtel Africa climbed 6.8%, 3i Group moved up nearly 6%, while Burberry Group, Smith & Nephew, The Sage Group, JD Sports Fashion, DCC, Severn Trent and RightMove gained 2.3%-3.3%. Dr. Martens gained 3.3%. The shoemaker posted a better-than-expected 61% jump in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit. Miners Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc and Endeavour Mining lost 3%-4.2%. Rio Tinto shed 2.8%, while Glencore ended nearly 2% down. Compass Group, ICG, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Metlen Energy & Metals, Standard Chartered, Halma, Lion Finance and St. James's Place also declined sharply. In the German market, SAP surged 6%. Qiagen, Rheinmetall, Hannover RE, Merck, Deutsche Telekom, Bayer, E.ON, Fresenius, Henkel, Symrise and Gea Group also closed with strong gains. Continental, Infineon, Daimler Truck Holding, Brenntag, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Siemens Energy and BASF lost 1%-4%. In the French market, Capgemini climbed nearly 4.5%. Thales, Dassault Systemes, Publicis Groupe, Eurofins Scientific and Orange gained 2%-3%. Sanofi moved up sharply after saying that a trial showed its rare disease therapy performed better in raising key lung protein in patients with a genetic form of lung disease. Hermes International, Danone, Edenred, Pernod Ricard and LVMH also closed with impressive gains. ArcelorMittal, Saint Gobain and Legrand lost 2.2%-2.6%. Schneider Electric, Renault, STMicroelectronics, Vinci, Michelin and Carrefor ended lower by 1%-2%.

United States
Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, the major U.S. stock indexes all moved to lower during trading on Tuesday. Stocks staged a recovery attempt in early afternoon trading but moved back to the downside going into the end of the day. The major averages all finished the day firmly in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 220.02 points or 0.8 percent to 25,870.71, the S&P 500 fell 49.44 points or 0.7 percent to 7,353.61 and the Dow declined 322.24 points or 0.7 percent to 49,363.88. The weakness on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to its highest levels since January 2025. Concerns about elevated crude oil prices leading to a sustained acceleration in the pace of inflation continued to drive yields higher. U.S. crude oil futures have given back some ground on the day but remain well above $100 a barrel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Gold stocks moved sharply lower amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.7 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month. Substantial weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected, as reflected by the 3.4 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Housing, brokerage and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while pharmaceutical, natural gas and healthcare stocks moved to the upside.

Asia
Stock markets in East Asia and Australia are dominated by negative trends on Wednesday. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Topix is down 1.7 per cent. Japanese investors are selling off metal, electronics and technology shares due to concerns over high energy and raw material costs.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved to the downside, extending the slump seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced 4.4 basis points to a one-year closing high of 4.667 percent.

Analysis
UBS downgrades Adecco to Sell (Neutral) – Target CHF 13 (21)
Bank of America cuts Ryanair target to EUR 26.50 (27) – Buy
Citi upgrades Knorr-Bremse to Buy (Neutral) – Target EUR 123 (116)

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