Private equity manager Partners Group has agreed to take control of Singapore data center operator Digital Halo on behalf of its clients, with the stated aim of transforming it into a regional platform and increasing its capacity to 500 MW. While it has not given any details of the financial details surrounding the transaction with Bermuda-based financial services provider Arch Capital - which is retaining a minority stake - the Zug-based firm indicated in its press release on Tuesday that it planned to inject some 400 million dollars into the expansion of Digital Halo's capacity. In particular, two new centers are to be set up, in the Philippines and Indonesia. Partners Group reports having invested more than 4 billion dollars in data centers worldwide over the last four years.

On Monday, the SMI gained 1.1 per cent to 12,220 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were twelve price gainers and eight price losers. A total of 31.59 (previously: 17.88) million shares were traded. Technology stocks such as Logitech, up 8.2 per cent, were in demand. The shares of luxury goods group Richemont, for which China is an important sales market, benefited from the easing of the trade dispute with a gain of 6.5 per cent. Another beneficiary was the share price of logistics group Kühne + Nagel, rising by 4.1 per cent. The share price of the bank UBS climbed by 4.4 per cent. The two pharmaceutical heavyweights Novartis and Roche ended trading 0.9 and 1.7 per cent higher respectively. Alcon closed up 0.3 per cent. Lonza dropped 1.5 per cent. SMI heavyweight Nestlé, which is considered defensive, slipped 1.6 per cent. Swisscom plunged by 2.2 per cent and Givaudan by 1.2 per cent.

Europe
European stock markets closed higher on Monday, with investors welcoming the easing of trade tensions between the United States and China. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.2% to 544.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 increased by 1.4% and 1.3% respectively. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt pocketed 0.3%, while the FTSE 100 picked up 0.6% in London. LUXURY, SEMI-CONDUCTORS, AUTOMOTIVE: the sectors most exposed to trade tensions rebounded on Monday following the announcement by the United States and China of a temporary suspension of their reciprocal customs duties. This was particularly the case for FORVIA (+8.1%), VALEO (+7.1%), STELLANTIS (+6.5%), STMICRO (+6.8%), LVMH (+7%) and KERING (+5.9%). DEFENCE: shares in the main European arms groups fell back after this weekend's diplomatic moves towards a ceasefire in Ukraine. In Paris, DASSAULT AVIATION dropped 4.7% and THALES slid 3%. LEONARDO lost 4.3% in Milan and RHEINMETALL slumped 5.9% in Frankfurt. UNICREDIT (+4.2%): the Italian bank lifted its forecasts for the year after first-quarter profits beat analysts' expectations, thanks to higher fee income.

United States
Stocks are surging, but Wall Street isn’t ready to declare victory in the trade war just yet. A surprise de-escalation between the U.S. and China drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 1,100 points and the Nasdaq Composite into a new bull market, a gain of more than 20% from its April low. Big tech stocks climbed, along with shares of shippers and multinational businesses. Amazon.com surged 8.1%. Nike climbed 7.3%. The Dow industrials ended the day with a gain of 2.8% and settled at 42410, above where they stood on April 2, when President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on goods from around the world. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was 4.3% higher, and the S&P 500 added 3.3%. Stocks had already posted big gains in the weeks since the White House backed off of its most extreme levies on other countries. Despite some of the most volatile stock and bond trading in recent memory in April, major benchmarks now stand close to where they started the year. The S&P 500 is down less than 1% in 2025, and the 10-year Treasury yield is down around one-tenth of a percentage point. The U.S. and China have agreed on substantial tariff cuts imposed on each other following a weekend of high-stakes trade talks in Geneva. That was enough to fuel a broad rally on Monday. Shares of companies that had been punished by the trade war, including Apple and Tesla, advanced. The so-called Magnificent Seven tech firms added a collective $830.9 billion in market value, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Investors drove up every S&P 500 sector except utilities - reversing a recent rush into stocks that are perceived to be resistant to slowing growth. The dollar jumped, bond yields rose, and investors bet on a slower pace of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year, a sign some are betting the U.S. could avoid a sharp slowdown.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday. The main topic continues to be the reduced tariffs initially negotiated between the USA and China for 90 days. In Hong Kong, the HSI lost 1.7 per cent. The Shanghai Composite held up well in the market. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.9 per cent to 38,375 points. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX-200 index, unchanged on the previous day, climbs by 0.4 per cent. Commodity stocks, which are considered particularly cyclical, are among those in demand here. BHP jumped by 2.8 per cent, Rio Tinto by 2.5 per cent and Fortescue by 4.0 per cent. Ampol added 1.2 per cent. The refinery company has decided to sell its electricity retail business in Australia and New Zealand. Kospi in Seoul lost 0.1 per cent.

Bonds
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield edged up by 9 basis points (0.09 percentage points) to 4.48% on Monday. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which is more sensitive to changes in the economy, climbed by 10 basis points to 4.01%. Investors seem to expect a slower pace of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year, implying the U.S. could avoid a sharp slowdown.

Analysis
Berenberg downgrades Straumann to CHF 145 (155) - Buy
Target price Zurich Insurance: Julius Baer upgrades to CHF 640 (630) - Buy
Target price Kuehne+Nagel: CFRA cuts to CHF 196 (204) - Hold