Cisco reported higher fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, fueled by growing demand for its AI products. The tech company reported net income of $2.8 billion, or 71 cents a share, up from $2.2 billion, or 54 cents, in the year prior. Adjusted earnings were 99 cents a share. Analysts expected 98 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue was $14.7 billion, up from $13.64 billion the previous year. Wall Street predicted $14.62 billion. AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million, bringing the fiscal year 2025 total to $2 billion. “The AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target, indicating a massive opportunity ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed for the AI era,” said CEO Chuck Robbins. However, the company's sales forecast for the current fiscal year was “only” in line with expectations, as market participants noted. The stock subsequently fell by 2.3 percent in initial after-hours trading in the US.

The Switzerland market closed on a firm note on Wednesday, despite struggling for support mid way through the day's trading session. Investors largely made their moves, reacting to the most recent earnings updates. The benchmark SMI, which stayed above the flat line the entire duration of the session, settled with a gain of 92.44 points or 0.78% at 11,978.85, near the day's high. Amrize climbed nearly 6%. Amrize is reportedly entering a partnership with Meta Platforms aimed at engineering a highly optimized AI-driven concrete mix. Schindler Ps, Zurich Insurance, Novartis, Roche Holding, Richemont, Alcon and Swiss Re gained 1 to 1.5%. Lonza Group, Nestle, SGS and Swiss Life Holding closed higher by 0.3 to 0.9%. Straumann Holding tumbled more than 8% as its first-half earnings fell below expectations. The dental implant maker reported EBIT of 358 million francs in the first half, slightly less than the expected earnings of 365 million francs. VAT Group, Partners Group and Givaudan lost 0.9 to 1.22%. ABB, Adecco, Sika and Geberit also closed weak.

Europe
European stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday on rising optimism about a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, and easing trade and geopolitical tensions. Gains were somewhat modest in several markets and traders chose to stay cautious at higher levels, choosing to wait for more economic data, and news from the tariff front. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.54%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.19%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed up by 0.67% and 0.66%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.78%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Austria, Finland and Portugal edged up marginally. Poland and Russia ended weak, while Turkiye closed flat. In the UK market, AstraZeneca climbed about 3.25%. Spirax Group gained 3%, extending previous session's upmove. GSK, Convatec Group, Unilever, Antofagasta, BT Group, Croda International, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Associated British Foods, JD Sports Fashion, Haleon, WPP, Informa, Natwest Group, Next and Ashtead Group also closed notably higher. Beazley tanked more than 12% after the insurer cut its full-year premium growth forecast. The company has revised its growth guidance to low-to-mid single digits to reflect prevailing market conditions. The company reported profit before tax of $502.5 million in the first half of 2025 down from $728.9 million in the prior year. Profit after tax for the period declined to $420.3 million or 65.4 cents per share from $571.6 million or 84.8 cents per share in the previous year. Entain, St. James's Place, British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Fresnillo, BP, Standard Chartered, Diageo, Weir Group and Melrose Industries lost 1 to 2.5%. Persimmon closed lower by about 0.6%. The housebuilding company reported that its profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the first half of 2025 declined to 100.0 million pounds or 30.9 pence per share from 110.7 million pounds or 34.3 pence per share in the previous year.In the German market, Bayer, Fresenius and SAP gained 3 to 3.3%. Fresenius Medical Care climbed nearly 3%.

United States
After initially extending the rally seen during Tuesday's session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday but managed to close mostly higher. Despite pulling back well off their highs of the session, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 still reached new record closing highs. The Nasdaq inched up 31.24 points or 0.1 percent to 21,713.14 and the S&P 500 rose 20.82 points or 0.3 percent to 6,466.58, while the narrower Dow posted a more significant gain, jumping 463.66 points or 1.0 percent to 44,922.27. The stronger gain by the blue chip index came amid notable gains by Dow components UnitedHealth (UNH), Nike (NKE), Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Merck (MRK). The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from optimism about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve following yesterday's consumer price inflation data. With the consumer price inflation data largely coming in line with economist estimates, the Fed is widely expected to lower rates by a least a quarter point next month. Housing stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index surging by 3.7 percent to its best closing level in eight months. Substantial strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 3.0 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The gain lifted the index to a five-month closing high. Airline, pharmaceutical and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, while brokerage and software stocks showed notable moves to the downside.

Asia
While the stock market in Japan is experiencing a more pronounced correction after two consecutive record highs, other stock markets in the region and in Australia are showing smaller movements in both directions. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo fell 1.5 per cent to 42,634 points.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries saw notable strength following the modest pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 5.5 basis points to 4.238 percent.

Analysis
JPMorgan raises Euronext target to EUR 149 (143) – Neutral
JPMorgan raises Gea target to EUR 55 (49) – Underweight
UBS lowers the Schott Pharma target to EUR 28.80 (29.20) – Buy