Following a strong first half of 2026, Lonza has lifted its full-year margin forecast. The contract pharmaceutical manufacturer reported revenue of 3.4 billion Swiss francs, representing 16 percent growth in local currency—driven by a favorable phase distribution and a low prior-year base. Core EBITDA rose 27 percent to 1.2 billion Swiss francs, and the corresponding margin improved by 4.4 percentage points to 34.8 percent, the company announced on Wednesday. As a result, both core EBITDA and the core EBITDA margin exceeded analysts’ expectations, while revenue was roughly in line with estimates. For the full year 2026, Lonza is raising its forecast for the core EBITDA margin to 33 to 34 percent, up from the previous range of over 32 percent, and confirms revenue growth of 11 to 12 percent in local currency. In addition, Lonza plans to expand its aseptic filling capacity for antibody-drug conjugates at its Stein site and, following the expected completion of the sale of its Capsules and Health Ingredients division before the end of 2026, to launch a share buyback program worth 500 million Swiss francs.

Significant gains by heavyweight Novartis lifted the Swiss stock market into positive territory on Tuesday. The SMI added 0.3 percent to 14,298 points. Novartis shares climbed 2.1 percent. The pharmaceutical giant returned to a growth trajectory in the second quarter. Although core operating profit remained flat, it still exceeded the consensus estimate. The other two defensive heavyweights, Roche and Nestlé, however, gave up 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Swiss exports plummeted by 6 percent in June, although watch exports, by contrast, increased significantly by 11.2 percent year-over-year. Swatch shares declined by 8.2 percent; although the watchmaker has benefited from a strong acceleration in sales in recent months, according to Vontobel, this has not yet been reflected in its profitability. Richemont shares slipped by 0.3 percent. Across Europe, technology stocks were in demand; in Switzerland, Logitech advanced by 1.9 percent and VAT by 5.1 percent. Julius Bär (-4%) posted record results in the first half of the year, but traders criticized its net new money inflows. Lindt & Sprüngli (-2.1%) achieved higher net income in the first half of the year solely due to price increases. At Schindler, Bernstein expressed concern over second-quarter organic revenue growth, which fell short of expectations. The company needs a strong acceleration in the second half of the year to meet its full-year forecast. The stock closed 5.4 percent lower.

Europe
Amid a flurry of corporate earnings reports, European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday. According to MarketWatch data, the Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.6% to 643.2 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 0.3% and 0.25%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 climbed 0.7%, while the FTSE 100 advanced 0.6% in London. ATOS (-5.2%): The digital services group announced Monday evening that its cash position is expected to stand at 1.098 billion euros as of December 31, 2026, compared with 1.805 billion euros as of June 30 of this year. Taking into account the July 6 repayment of 857 million euros of the outstanding balance of the former 1L debt, its total cash position would have been 948 million euros as of June 30. VIRBAC (+5.1%): The veterinary pharmaceutical company expressed greater optimism on Monday evening regarding its business growth in 2026, after posting a 7.2% organic increase in revenue for the second quarter. Compared to 2025, its organic growth this year is now expected to hit the upper end of the initially targeted range of 5.5% to 7.5%. MAUREL & PROM (+3.5%): The hydrocarbon producer reported on Tuesday that its revenue for the first half of the year jumped 27% year-over-year to $366 million.

United States
U.S. stocks rose broadly Tuesday as chip shares staged a strong recovery and investors positioned for a wave of major technology earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 385.38 points, or 0.74%, to 52224.64. The S&P 500 rose 65.92 points, or 0.89%, to 7509.20, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 329.13 points, or 1.29%, to 25837.21. 3M rose about 7.3% after the materials maker raised its guidance and posted an 11% jump in second-quarter profit, driven by strong performance in its industrial, safety and data-center businesses. General Motors GM increased about 4.9% after lifting its profit forecast despite a drop in U.S. cars sold, as the automaker cashed in on demand for bigger, pricier trucks and SUVs. Hasbro HAS jumped about 8.8% after posting results for its “Magic: The Gathering” card game, with sales up 34% in the first half. Utz Brands UTZ surged nearly 89% after agreeing to be taken private by Germany’s Intersnack Group. Charles Schwab’s SCHW second-quarter profit jumped 32% to $2.8 billion, as a trading boom lifted the brokerage’s results. The dollar rose by 0.23 percentage point. The euro was last seen at $1.14. Gold added 1.52% to $4071.10 per troy ounce. Looking ahead, Alphabet, Tesla and IBM IBM report earnings Wednesday. Thursday, Intel and American Airlines will report quarterly results. American Express AXP and Verizon are due out on Friday.

Asia
On Wednesday, stock markets in East Asia are mostly heading upwards. In Seoul, the Kospi is up 4.3 percent. The index is once again being driven higher by chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics (+5.1%) and SK Hynix (+6.2%). On the Japanese stock market, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.9 percent; the broader Topix index advanced 1.1 percent. Here, too, chip stocks were among the top performers. Tokyo Electron, Kioxia, and SoftBank Group improved by 2.4 percent, about 10 percent, and 1.8 percent, respectively. The Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 0.5 percent. Bucking the positive trend in the region, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 0.8 percent.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Tuesday amid inflation fears building with the 10-year Treasury note yield increasing by 0.030 percentage points to 4.628 percent. The spread between 10-year and two-year Treasury yields is expected to narrow further over the coming months, potentially leading to an inversion, remarked Capital Economics' James Reilly.

Analysis
RBC increases ABB price target to CHF 83 (81) - Sector Perform
Berenberg lifts Belimo price target to CHF 1,100 (1,060) - Buy
Zurich Rating: RBC initiates coverage with Outperform - price target CHF 670

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