Amazon Web Services has signed up cloud storage company Snowflake as its latest chips customer, as the proliferation of artificial intelligence agents continues to drive high levels of demand for computing hardware. Snowflake SNOW plans to pay $6 billion over the next five years for access to Amazon’s AMZN Graviton chips inside AWS data centers. Graviton, which AWS released in 2018, is a central processing unit, or CPU—the main computer brains that power everything from personal devices like smartphones and laptops to car computers, data center servers and advanced AI systems. The deal, announced Wednesday, will make Snowflake one of AWS’s largest customers for CPU-based computing. Other major buyers of Graviton chips include Meta Platforms META and Apple AAPL. AWS also offers chips customized from training and running AI models. Shares in Snowflake soared as much as 35% after the market closed. Snowflake was founded on AWS’s platform in 2015 and has been expanding its relationship with Amazon ever since. The company has nearly 14,000 customers, including rewards and advertising startup Fetch and AI analytics platform Hex.

The Swiss stock market continued to trade on a positive note midway through the week. The SMI rose 0.8 percent to 13,627 points. Driven by hopes of a recovery in China, luxury goods stocks were in demand across Europe. These companies are considered highly dependent on demand from Chinese buyers. As a result, Richemont shares were the biggest gainers in the SMI, rising 5.1 percent. Swatch shares climbed 2.8 percent. Shares of Amrize (+4.8%) and Givaudan (+2.5%) also saw significant upticks. Sentiment was further bolstered by advances among the two defensive index heavyweights, Novartis and Nestlé, which edged up 1.0% and 2.1%, respectively. In contrast, Roche shares slipped 0.1%.

Europe
European stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday, as investors kept a close eye on the Middle East and oil prices. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended near the flat line at 628.2 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each rose 0.4%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 ended virtually unchanged, and the FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% in London. CAPGEMINI (-3.5%): The digital services group announced on Wednesday, during an investor day, that it is launching a new cycle to capture the full value of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Capgemini forecasts, in particular, an average annual revenue growth rate of 5.5% to 7.5% at constant exchange rates between 2025 and 2028. ERAMET (-2.5%): The mining group confirmed Tuesday evening the appointment, effective immediately, of Simon Henochsberg as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Abel Martins Alexandre. Eramet also announced on Wednesday that it would resume production of mineral sands in Senegal at approximately 30% of nominal capacity, three months after the fire at its local site in Grande Côte. PLUXEE (-1.6%), EDENRED (-0.8%): The two meal voucher and gift card specialists reported Wednesday that they had been informed of a complaint filed by the Fiscalia Nacional Economica (FNE), Chile’s competition authority, with the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC).

United States
The New York Stock Exchange closed slightly higher and at new record highs on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new all-time high, rising 0.4% to 50,644.28 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, meanwhile, set new records after gaining 0.02% to 7,520.36 points and 0.07% to 26,674.74 points, respectively. Marvell Technology (MRVL): The stock initially surged in after-hours trading following the release of the artificial intelligence hardware supplier’s earnings, which reported a 28% increase in revenue but lower profits. The stock then gave up some of its gains after the market closed. Micron Technology (MU): The memory chip maker closed above $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the stock finished up about 3.6%. Zscaler (ZS): The cybersecurity company issued a cautious outlook for its full fiscal year, as rising memory chip costs and changes within its sales leadership team created uncertainty. The stock plummeted by about 32%. Salesforce (CRM): The software-as-a-service company revealed higher earnings and revenue in the first quarter and increased the low end of its full-year revenue guidance. The stock was down about 1.5% in recent after-hours trading.

Asia
Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday. The drop is particularly sharp in Seoul, where the Kospi has fallen by 4.6 percent. In Seoul, shares of index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are down 5.2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index is down 2.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.1 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell by 1.7 percent, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney recorded a decline of 1.8 percent. Tech stocks are also under pressure in Tokyo, with SoftBank shares losing 5.0 percent.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields slipped on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield dipped 1 basis point to 4.48%. Sliding oil prices helped ease inflation concerns slightly.

Analysis
Price target for Lem: Vontobel raises to CHF 600 (550) – Buy
Price target for Comet: UBS increases to CHF 405 (300) – Buy
Price target for Huber+Suhner: Vontobel raises to CHF 245 (150) – Hold

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.