Volkswagen is working on a radical overhaul that will likely result in thousands of additional job losses beyond the 50,000 already agreed with unions, in the automotive giant’s latest move to bolster its finances amid growing competition from China. The project is aimed at making “the entire company more efficient and leaner,” the German carmaker. The company’s management team is expected to present details of the plan to its supervisory board early next month. Volkswagen’s statement followed a report by local business monthly Manager Magazin that the company wanted to double its job-cut target to 100,000 positions. Roles in North America and China would be trimmed as well as four factories in Germany, the report said. The company, which employs roughly 657,000 people, declined to put a figure on any layoffs or which operations would be targeted. Volkswagen’s latest restructuring move comes as the world’s second-largest carmaker contends with mounting challenges around the world. In particular, Chinese automakers have sapped the German company’s profit in China and are now making inroads into its European heartlands.

The Swiss market ended on a weak note on Friday after languishing in negative territory throughout the day's trading session. Profit taking, concerns about valuations in the tech sector and uncertainty about Iran peace deal weighed on the market. The benchmark SMI ended down by 59.25 points or 0.42% at 14,172.71, after scaling a low of 14,03846 and a high of 14,211.74 intraday. Logitech International ended down 3.83%. ABB closed 2.5% down, while UBS Group, Lindt & Spruengli, Sandoz Group, VAT Group and Kuehne + Nagel finished lower by 1.5%-2%. Holcim both ended lower by 1%. Holcim has closed its Xella acquisition. With the acquisition, combined with modular wall systems and an AI platform, Holcim expects lower on-site labor, improved operations and reduced logistics costs. Alcon ended nearly 1% down. Julius Baer, Lonza Group, Straumann Holding, Sonova and Schindler Ps ended modestly lower. Swiss Re, Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, SGS and Geberit climbed 0.5%-0.85%.

Europe
European stocks closed broadly lower on Friday amid fresh concerns about valuations in the tech sector on reports OpenAI could delay its public market debut. Uncertainty about U.S.-Iran peace deal following a fresh attack on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz hurt as well. The pan European Stoxx 600 settled 0.68% down. The UK's FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.21%, Germany's DAX dropped 1.29% and France's CAC 40 shed 0.55%. Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss 0.42%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak. Belgium, Czech Republic and Türkiye ended higher. In the UK market, Croda International ended nearly 5% down. Whitbread, Airtel Africa, Polar Capital Technology Trust, BP and Barclays lost 2%-3%. Investec, Aberdeen Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IG Group Holdings, Persimmon, Spirax Group, HSBC Holdings, Babcock International, Melrose Industries, Standard Chartered, Glencore and Barratt Redrow also ended notably lower. Endeavour Mining, Coca-Cola HBC, The Sage Group, Burberry Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Admiral Group, AstraZeneca, Pearson, Fresnillo, BT Group, Compass Group, Tritax Big Box REIT, Sainsbury (J), Entain and LondonMetric Property gained 1.3%-3%. British American Tobacco moved up more than 1% after it announced plans to launch another share buyback program during the closed period ahead of its July 30 half-year results. In the German market, Auto stocks were weak as investors assessed the potential implications of higher memory chip costs on the industry. Porsche Automobil Holding and Volkswagen closed lower by 6.5% and 4%, respectively. Mercedes-Benz shed nearly 3% and BMW closed lower by 2.8%. Daimler Truck Holding drifted down 1.3%. Zalando ended lower by 6.3% after Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, launched an investigation into the company's 2025 financial statements, alleging that a transaction related to the acquisitions of About You might have been omitted. Siemens Energy closed 5.8% down and Infineon drifted down 4.5%. Deutsche Bank and RWE lost 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

United States
U.S. stocks fell slightly as diminished fuel-cost concerns were offset by fears about the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence rallyThe Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44.51 points, or 0.09%, to 51876.11. The S&P 500 lost 3.47 points, or 0.05%, to 7354.02 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 60.99 points, or 0.24%, to 25297.62. The PHLX "SOX" Semiconductor index fell 737.3 points, or 5.3%, to 13,203.57 and is down roughly 10% from its recent peak. The index incurred its biggest weekly loss since April 2025 despite Micron Technology's midweek report. Micron's growth rate gave the impression the memory-chip maker could hardly produce semiconductors fast enough to meet AI demand. ON Semiconductor fell $28.09, or 24%, to $90.65 after the chip maker agreed to buy AI-hardware maker Synaptics for about $7 billion in stock. There are likely to be false alarms before the "final pop" of the AI bubble, said Lorenzo Di Mattia, manager of hedge fund Sibilla Global Fund, with the stock market set to gyrate in a broad range. Among the red flags that Di Mattia is tracking are the stock-market performances of companies whose borrowings are tied to AI hopes. This includes software companies and private credit firms. In the final June reading, the University of Michigan consumer-sentiment index rose to 49.5 from a record low of 44.8 in May, as the peace deal in Iran caused gasoline prices to retreat from multiyear highs. Shares of Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley each fell more than 4% after reports that OpenAI would delay its multibillion-dollar initial public offering until 2027. The IPOs of three major AI companies expected for this year were anticipated to yield a fee bonanza for investment banks. But SpaceX shares are hovering around their opening price following its IPO and Anthropic's IPO date has yet to be confirmed. Shares of Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group, one of the largest AI investors, tumbled. Moderna shares rose $7.52, or 13%, to $67.27 after the biotech company said it was pursuing a treatment for autoimmune disorders. That was part of Moderna's efforts to diversify after struggles to follow up its successful Covid-19 vaccine.

Asia
There is no clear trend today on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia. The partly negative lead from the US stock markets is weighing on sentiment. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index is down 0.9 per cent. The broader Topix index is down 0.4 per cent. Sentiment is somewhat dampened by the news that China has added 20 Japanese companies – including some from the defence sector – and research institutions to its export control list.

Bonds
The yield on the U.S. two-year Treasury fell 0.033 percentage point to 4.087%. The yield on the 10-year note declined 0.019 percentage point to 4.372%.

Analysis
UBS lowers its target price for Davide Campari-Milano to EUR 6.10 (6.70) – Neutral
Bank of America raises its target price for STMicroelectronics to EUR 88 (86) – Buy
Citi reinstates coverage of Iberdrola with a Neutral rating and a target price of EUR 21.10

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