Novartis AG (NVS), a pharmaceutical company, on Friday announced that its phase III Lp(a)HORIZON trial of pelacarsen, an investigational cardiovascular therapy, failed to meet the primary endpoint. The company specified that pelacarsen did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events-including deaths, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and urgent coronary revascularization requiring hospitalization, compared to placebo. The company stated that Pelacarsen reduced lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a) levels in the study population, but did not translate into a demonstrable reduction in cardiovascular risk across the overall study population. In the afterhours trading on Friday, shares were down more than 4%.

On Friday, the SMI closed virtually unchanged at 14,396 points. Shares in the building materials sector were in demand. Holcim, Amrize and Sika rose by up to 2.4 per cent. Technology stocks were also among the gainers, following the recovery in the US sector. Within the SMI, Logitech gained 0.7 per cent, whilst amongst smaller caps, Ams-Osram jumped 6.3 per cent. The SMI was supported by heavyweight Nestlé, whose share price added 0.6 per cent. The pharmaceutical heavyweights Novartis (-1.3 per cent) and Roche (+0.1 per cent) did not benefit from Bank of America raising their respective price targets and upgrading its ‘buy’ recommendation for both shares. The price target for Lonza (-2.5 per cent) was also increased, though analysts maintained their ‘neutral’ recommendation here. Pharmaceutical shares, however, were generally weaker across Europe. Richemont shares rebounded by 1 per cent after coming under significant pressure the previous day, in line with the wider luxury goods sector. Observers had attributed this to customers being increasingly unwilling to pay the high prices for luxury goods. The figures from US lingerie manufacturer Victoria’s Secret, which were not entirely convincing across the board, had also been cited as a reason for the sell-off in the sector.

Europe
European stock markets ended Friday largely unchanged. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1 per cent to 649.88 points, limiting its weekly losses to 0.8 per cent. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each declined by 0.1 per cent. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 added 0.2 per cent, whilst the FTSE 100 closed virtually unchanged on the London Stock Exchange. ALSTOM (+2 per cent): the railway equipment manufacturer announced on Thursday evening that it had secured a “major contract” to renew VIA Rail Canada’s long-distance train fleet, worth 4.7 billion Canadian dollars, or approximately 3 billion euros. GTT (+3.9%): On Friday, Berenberg upgraded its recommendation on the shares of the manufacturer of cryogenic membranes for the transport of liquefied natural gas from “hold” to “buy” and raised its target price from 190 to 245 euros. VIVENDI (-6.7%): the media and music holding company reported on Thursday evening that its turnover and net profit for the first half of 2026 were down year-on-year. Vivendi’s portfolio of listed minority stakes also declined over the period, mainly due to the fall in the share price of the record label Universal Music Group (UMG).

United States
U.S. stocks fell after surprisingly strong jobs data muddied the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 271.86 points, or 0.51%, to 53414.25. The S&P 500 declined 29.11 points, or 0.38%, to 7718.60 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 77.07 points, or 0.29%, to 26506.99. Swedish investment firm EQT agreed to buy a majority stake in London-based insurance broker McGill and Partners for $2 billion from rival Warburg Pincus. The deal comes on the heels of another multibillion dollar insurance brokerage merger, Aon's planned $17 billion acquisition of USI Insurance. Shares of Tesla fell 5.9% to $354.08 after federal regulators opened an investigation into the electric car maker's steering-wheel-free Cybercab to determine whether it complies with safety standards. Lululemon shares tumbled 17% to $100.61 after the yogawear retailer cut its sales projection for the second time this year. Shares of credit-scoring firm Fair Isaac slid 17% to $932.26 and credit bureau Equifax retreated 6.4% to $177.05. Trump administration housing regulator Bill Pulte wrote that he was instructing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow all lenders to evaluate borrowers based on VantageScore, a service that competes with the FICO score, a longtime standard.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday. Chip stocks are the clear winners of the day in the region, driven by renewed AI optimism. The Kospi in Seoul jumped 3.9 percent, with shares of the two chip giants, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, soaring 6.3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, while Hanmi Semiconductor gained 3.7 percent. In Tokyo, chip stocks Advantest and Renesas are up 4.0 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. Murata Manufacturing climbed over 5 percent. The Topix, the broad market index there, is up 0.4 percent. In Hong Kong, however, the HSI shed 1.0 percent, while in Shanghai, the market gave up 0.2 percent. In Hong Kong, SMIC added 1.6 percent and Hua Hong Grace 5.2 percent.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Wednesday. The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year Treasury added 0.047 percentage point to 4.379%, closing within 2 basis points of a 52-week high. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 0.022 percentage point to 4.783%. The yield on the 30-year bond climbed 0.003 percentage point to 5.246%. The unexpected rebound in the labor market brightened the outlook for economic growth but also increased pressure on the Fed to take action on inflation. Odds of a rate hike at the upcoming central bank meeting increased to roughly 60% on Fed funds futures markets.

Analysis
Swiss Life target price: Barclays raises to CHF 936 (890) – Overweight
Kühne+Nagel rating: MS downgrades to Underweight (Equal Weight) – target CHF 200 (194)
Swiss Re target price: Barclays upgrades to CHF 123 (116) – Underweight
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