South Korea’s Samsung Biologics confirmed on Monday having made an all-cash bid of 1.46 billion Swiss francs ($1.8 billion) for Switzerland’s PolyPeptide Group, which specializes in peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. Under the terms of the public tender offer, stockholders will receive 44.31 Swiss franc per share. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year. The acquisition will be the largest biopharmaceutical M&A deal in the country’s history, Samsung Biologics added, as it aims to diversify its portfolio by expanding into peptide therapeutics, one of the fastest-growing segments in the biopharmaceutical industry due to surging demand for obesity treatments. Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, PolyPeptide Group, which was spun off in 1996 from global pharmaceutical company Ferring, has a track record of developing and producing more than 1,000 therapeutic peptides. Samsung Biologics shares slipped 3.4% on Monday.

Bucking the weak trend on European stock markets, the Swiss stock market closed higher on Friday. The SMI gained 0.5 percent to 14,344 points. Sentiment was buoyed primarily by gains in the defensive index heavyweights Novartis, Roche, and Nestlé, which rose by as much as 1.4 percent. Among individual stocks, Georg Fischer shares surged 14 percent. The industrial company raised its full-year revenue forecast, citing price increases and strong order intake, driven in part by data centers and chip manufacturers. Richemont shares, on the other hand, declined by 1.6 percent, even though JPMorgan raised its rating to “Overweight” from “Neutral.” The luxury goods company had reported strong results earlier in the week, so profit-taking may have been responsible for the drop.

Europe
European stock markets pulled back on Friday. According to MarketWatch data, the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 641.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 lost 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gave up 0.3%, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.1% in London. SEMICONDUCTORS: European companies in the sector faced another round of selling, as some investors fear that valuations and spending on artificial intelligence (AI) may be too high. ASML Holding dropped 3.8% in Amsterdam, while Infineon Technologies shed 1.6% in Frankfurt. In Paris, STMicroelectronics and Soitec slumped 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively. DBV TECHNOLOGIES (-7.3%): The biotech company revealed Thursday evening that its losses had widened in the first half of 2026, due in particular to higher research and development (R&D) and sales and marketing expenses, while noting that its cash position provided financial visibility through the third quarter of 2027. DASSAULT SYSTEMES (-2.1%): The software publisher is negotiating the acquisition of US competitor ArisGlobal from its current owner, the Swedish private equity firm Nordic Capital, the Financial Times reported Thursday evening. According to sources familiar with the matter the deal could close for $2 billion.

United States
U.S. stocks edged lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 16.26 points, or 0.03%, to 52536.71. The S&P 500 shed 76.10 points, or 1.01%, to 7457.70, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 361.70 points, or 1.40%, to 25520.24. The Friday release of a new model from China's Moonshot AI, whose Kimi K3 claims to outperform some cutting-edge U.S. systems with 2.8 trillion parameters, making it the world's biggest open-source model, evoked concerns. Analysts drew comparisons to the DeepSeek-driven selloff earlier this year. Netflix fell 7.3% to $68.95 in its biggest one-day drop in two months after the streaming company forecast third-quarter revenue growth that would be its smallest year-on-year increase since late 2023. SpaceX declined 5.4%, adding to a slide that has now erased more than $1 trillion in market capitalization from the rocket maker's peak valuation of nearly $2.7 trillion on June 16. Travelers reported a 46% surge in profit for the second quarter, with net income rising to $2.2 billion, as rate hikes and low catastrophe losses boosted the property and casualty insurer's results. Intuitive Surgical ISRG was the S&P 500’s worst performer, tumbling 14% after the healthcare robotics company reported an earnings beat but failed to raise its outlook. Earnings season accelerates this week with General Motors to report on Tuesday; Alphabet, IBM and Tesla on Wednesday; and Intel, and Verizon later in the week.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday. Japanese exchanges are closed due to a public holiday. In Shanghai, the Composite Index is up 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advances 2.1 percent. On the Seoul Stock Exchange, the technology-heavy KOSPI is falling again, this time by 3.4 percent. Meanwhile, the latest escalation in the Iran conflict is driving oil prices higher and, along with these, the stock prices of companies in the sector across the region. Brent crude is up 2.6 percent to $90.37 per barrel. CNOOC shares climbed 5.6 percent in Hong Kong, and PetroChina shares added 3.9 percent. Shares of South Korea’s S-Oil increased 1.1 percent in Seoul.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Friday. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined 0.026 percentage points last week to 4.542%.

Analysis
Jefferies raises Zurich Airport to CHF 252 (246) - Hold
Citi lowers Partners Group to CHF 680 (700) - Neutral
ABB price target: ODDO BHF SCA increases to CHF 86 (85) - Neutral
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