Alibaba is preparing to list its chip unit in Hong Kong, setting up a pivotal moment in its multibillion-dollar push into artificial intelligence. Alibaba said late Tuesday that the Hong Kong stock exchange confirmed it can proceed with an initial public offering for its semiconductor business, T-Head, which filed a confidential application in September to list on the exchange’s main board. The listing, which still needs Chinese securities regulators’ approval, could see T-Head valued at $85 billion, Nomura 8604 estimates show. If successful, the move would mark a milestone for Beijing’s efforts to become self-reliant in critical technological areas like cutting-edge chips that the U.S. dominates. It would also be a win for Alibaba, which faces slowing growth in its core e-commerce business and must hone an edge in AI to stay relevant. The technology conglomerate has committed to spending more than $53 billion over three years to make AI an engine of growth. Founded in 2018, T-Head forms part of Alibaba’s strategy to control both the hardware and software that power AI.

The Swiss stock market closed above the 15,000-point mark on Tuesday. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) ended the day up 0.61 per cent at 15,037.94 points, having reached a high of 15,077.56 and a low of 14,996.31. The Swiss Leader Index (SLI) followed the same trend, rising by 0.47 per cent to 2,409.84 points, whilst the broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) rose by 0.53 per cent to 21,144.31 points. Of the SLI’s top thirty by market capitalisation, only nine were in the red. Topping the day’s gains was luxury goods group Richemont (+2.7 per cent), which is set to publish its delayed half-year results on Friday. Asset manager Julius Bär (+1.7%) took second place, ahead of Geberit (+1.5%) in third. Bringing up the rear, hearing specialist Sonova finished down 1.8 per cent, not far behind Amrize (-1.7 per cent) and Sandoz (-1.2 per cent). All the heavyweights closed the session with gains: ABB (+0.5%), Nestlé (+0.3%), Novartis (+0.7%) and Roche (+0.1%). Inspection giant SGS (-0.3%) set its sights on its modest Florida-based counterpart, Deibel Laboratories.

Europe
The major European markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday, although they trended downward throughout the day and ended on opposite sides of the unchanged line. Early in the session, European stocks traded near record highs thanks to falling oil prices as hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict helped ease inflation concerns. But the markets turned lower after data showed that U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected in October, raising concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The FTSE in London slipped under water at the close, finishing lower by 31.28 points or 0.29 percent to end at 10,751.59. Germany's DAX added 80.26 points or 0.31 percent to close at 26,347.45 and the CAC 40 in France gained 45.30 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 8,278.59. In economic news, France's Q3 unemployment fell to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent in the second quarter versus expectations for an increase to 8.4 percent. Last year, the jobless rate was 7.8 percent. Norway's consumer price inflation accelerated to its highest level in seven months, although less than was expected. Inflation climbed to 3.6 percent in October versus expectations for 3.7 percent. Hungary's consumer price inflation increased for the third straight month in October to the highest level in six months, hitting 2.0 percent on year after rising 1.6 percent a month earlier. Sweden's industrial output declined for the first time in three months in September, slipping 3.7 percent yearly while reversing a 5.7 percent gain in August. This was the steepest fall since August 2024.

United States
U.S. stocks declined after hotter-than-expected inflation data and a more modest valuation for one of the leading artificial-intelligence players. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.86 points, or 0.30%, to 52231.89. The broad S&P 500 lost 29.01 points, or 0.38%, to 7520.93 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 187.26 points, or 0.74%, to 25065.87. The cost of debt is rising because of inflation. Consumer prices climbed 0.4% in October from the previous month, extending the stretch of stubborn inflation that contributed to voters' sour economic mood in last week's elections. Treasury yields rallied in the wake of the data and comments from Federal Reserve officials. Anthropic is now targeting a $1.3 trillion valuation in its initial public offering expected next week, which would catapult the AI company into the top 20 businesses in the world in terms of market capitalization. Yet the latest target is down from the reported $2 trillion valuation the inventor of the Claude AI model was aiming for prior to recent market concerns about the AI sector. Nvidia shares retreated 5.5% to $168.89 as traders continued to weigh possible outcomes from the investigation into Chief Executive Jensen Huang's extramarital affair with Alice Huang, who U.S. officials believe is a spy working for China. The fallout from the affair has thrown the world's leading AI chipmaker into turmoil, and is raising doubts about the integrity of Nvidia's intellectual property.

Asia
Asian stock markets are showing no clear trend in late trading on Wednesday. Whilst semiconductor shares are rising in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, technology shares in China are coming under pressure. Strong financial results and an upward revision to CoreWeave’s revenue outlook are fuelling AI shares in Asia, pushing the higher-than-expected US inflation figures somewhat into the background.

Bonds
The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year U.S. Treasury rose 0.180 percentage point to 4.725%, the largest one-session increase since April 9, 2025. The yield on the 10-year note rose 0.120 percentage point to 4.982%. The 30-year bond yield rose 0.093 percentage point to 5.349%.

Analysis
Jefferies upgrades Renault to Buy (Hold) – target price 34 (30) EUR
JPMorgan lowers Leonardo’s target price to 70 (73) EUR – Overweight
JPMorgan raises Gea’s target price to 68.50 (68) EUR – Neutral


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.