Richemont has reported that sales in its jewelry division continued to drive revenue growth at the end of the year, which is encouraging news for the luxury sector, which hopes to gain momentum in the coming year. The Swiss group, which, in addition to its star jewelers Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, owns high-end watchmakers such as Vacheron Constantin and fashion brands such as Chloe, recorded sales growth of 11% at constant exchange rates to reach €6.4 billion ($7.45 billion) in the third quarter of its fiscal year, which ended in December. This figure is slightly higher than analysts' expectations, who had forecast sales of €6.28 billion for the quarter, according to a consensus established by FactSet prior to publication, and marks a slight acceleration in the pace of growth compared to the first half of the year. Jewelry was the main driver of this growth, recording sales growth of 14% adjusted for currency effects over the period, compared with 7% for the watch business and 3% for the fashion and accessories division, Richemont said in an update published on Thursday. However, weak currencies weighed on unadjusted results, the group said. Reported revenue growth was only 4% over the period, including a 2% decline in revenue in the key Asia-Pacific region, the group said. The group cited a “complex macroeconomic environment marked by weak major currencies and rising raw material costs [which] continue to weigh on margins.”

The Swiss stock market remained unaffected by the global political climate on Wednesday and closed higher despite negative signals from Wall Street. The leading index, the SMI, even reached a new record high. The SMI gained 0.7 percent to 13,465 points. Kühne + Nagel led the winners, gaining 4.3 percent. According to trading sources, this was due to positive analyst commentary. Goldman Sachs now recommends buying the stock, it was reported. The SMI heavyweights also posted significant gains. Nestlé, which had recently been weighed down by the recall of baby food, recovered by 1.8 percent. Novartis and Roche improved by 2.1 and 0.9 percent. Sika recovered 1.2 percent after Tuesday's sell-off. The shares had slumped in response to the company's sales data and a lowered forecast. Richemont turned negative shortly before the close of trading and shed 0.5 percent.

Europe
European stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors digested new economic data from the United States while analyzing a series of results from the US banking sector. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 611.6 points. In Paris, SBF 120 fell 0.1%, while CAC 40 lost 0.2%, after nevertheless reaching a new all-time high during the session at 8,396.72 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 shed 0.5% and the FTSE 100 added 0.5% in London. IPSEN (+6.9%): The pharmaceutical company announced on Tuesday evening that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted breakthrough therapy designation to IPN60340 in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine (Ven-Aza) for the treatment of a form of leukemia. AIR FRANCE-KLM (-5.2%, to €10.69): On Wednesday, Barclays downgraded its recommendation on the airline's stock from “neutral weighting” to “underweight,” while reducing its target price from €10 to €9.90. VUSION (-4.8%): The electronic label specialist is facing headwinds. ABIVAX (+3.9%, to €108): On Wednesday, Stifel raised its target price for the French biotech company from €100 to €142, while reiterating its “buy” recommendation.

United States
Tech stocks retreated Wednesday, with declines in Nvidia and other chip companies dragging the Nasdaq composite to its worst day in almost a month. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell less than the Nasdaq, losing 0.6% and less than 0.1% respectively, in another example of the so-called rotation trade that has powered recent market moves. Investors’ growing sense of optimism about the economy, and their more-cautious view of the artificial-intelligence build-out, have spurred a shift away from some of the recent tech highfliers and into stocks poised to benefit from a reacceleration in growth. Driving the moves: concerns about high valuations and additional regulation. On Tuesday, the Trump administration said Nvidia must meet new security requirements before sending H200 artificial-intelligence chips to China. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated plans for consumer protection rules on artificial intelligence. Broadcom and Arm Holdings lost 4.2% and 2.6% respectively. Nvidia fell 1.4%, and Nasdaq dropped 1.1% to notch its worst one-day drop since Dec. 17. Tech firms’ ambitious plans for blowout spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure had already been making some investors skittish over the past couple of months. Shares of consumer staples companies, healthcare providers, and energy companies edged upward. Consumer discretionary stocks fell, with the group losing 1.8% to lead declines in the S&P 500. Travel stocks took a particular blow, with Airbnb losing 5.2% and Expedia falling 3.1%. Cruise operators Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Carnival all declined more than 2.5%. Bank shares also took a hit, after new earnings reports from major lenders. Wells Fargo stock fell 4.6% after the lender posted disappointing net income per share. Shares in Bank of America fell too, even after consumer spending led to a 12% rise in quarterly profit. Citi stock also retreated after the bank’s quarterly profit was hit by a $1.2 billion loss from the announced sale of its Russia operations.

Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.8 percent to 53,887 points due to profit-taking. The upcoming parliamentary elections in Japan are unlikely to lead to a significant easing of fiscal policy, according to Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics. Electronics and technology stocks led the losses in Tokyo. Tokyo Electron shares gave up 2.4 percent and SoftBank Group shares slumped 4.9 percent. Meanwhile, the Korean central bank confirmed key interest rates at 2.50 percent, as expected. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng (Hong Kong) were down 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined by 3 basis points to 4.14%. Concerns about a US attack on Iran and sliding stock prices boosted demand on the bond market. In addition, favourable inflation data kept hopes alive for interest rate cuts in the course of the year.

Analysis
Comet target price: UBS raises to CHF 275 (252) – Buy
Kühne+Nagel rating: Goldman Sachs upgrades to Buy (Sell) – Target CHF 210 (147)
Lindt&Sprüngli target price: Berenberg lowers to CHF 114,490 (115,301) – Hold

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