The Zurich Group once again increased its earnings in the 2025 financial year. In view of the positive profit development, the insurer's shareholders are set to benefit from a higher dividend payout. Zurich's operating profit jumped 14 percent to $8.86 billion last year, and net profit climbed 17 percent to $6.80 billion, the company revealed on Thursday. Both figures are record highs. Zurich has thus clearly exceeded analysts' expectations. Shareholders will also benefit from the good performance. At the Annual General Meeting on April 8, the insurer will propose a dividend increase of CHF 2 to CHF 30 per share. In 2025, Zurich, like its competitors, benefited from a relatively low level of claims from adverse weather conditions. Zurich is aiming for an average annual increase in earnings per share of over 9 percent and a return on operating profit of over 23 percent. At 26.9 percent, the latter was already above the target in 2025.

The Swiss stock market continues to race from one high to the next. The SMI added 0.4 percent to reach a new record high of 13,807 points. Amrize shares reflected the bullish sentiment, shooting up 13.3 percent, followed by a 2.9 percent gain for parent company Holcim. Although the Holcim subsidiary, which focuses on US business, fell just short of analysts' estimates with its fourth-quarter figures and outlook, it triggered strong buying with the announcement of a special dividend and a share buyback program. Analysts at Vontobel also highlighted the strong free cash flow as a positive surprise. UBS jumped 2.7 percent, while Julius Bär gained 2.6 percent in the second tier. Both were in demand in the wake of stronger bank stocks across Europe. Alcon (+1.8%) and Kühne+Nagel (+2.7%) were once again among the top performers. Zurich Insurance closed the day before the presentation of its quarterly figures with a plus of 0.7 percent in the middle of the pack. Nestlé shares, which had already been weak the previous day, fell again, this time by 0.8 percent. The food giant will also open its books on Thursday. Swiss Re (-2.0%) brought up the rear, behind Givaudan, with a 1.9 percent decline in line with weak chemical stocks across Europe. Market observers attributed this to disappointing business figures from the Dutch company IMCD.

Europe
European stock markets closed significantly higher on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.2% to 628.7 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 each advanced 0.8% to 8,429.03 points and 6,381.22 points, respectively. The Paris stock market's flagship index reached a new all-time high during the session at 8,438.52 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 rose 1.1% and the FTSE 100 climbed 1.2% in London. VUSION (-12%): the contract won by the electronic label specialist with retailer Carrefour is not enough to reassure investors concerned about the upcoming end of its mega-contract with US retailer Walmart. CARREFOUR (-4.8%): On Wednesday, the retailer unveiled a new strategic plan focused on a limited number of markets and accelerating the digitalization of its stores. The group intends to increase its current operating margin from 2.6% in 2025 to 3.5% in 2030. EXAIL TECHNOLOGIES (+4.5%): The civil and military robotics specialist reported Wednesday a target for double-digit revenue growth this year, after achieving sales of €479 million in 2025, up 28% year-on-year.

United States
Investors are coming back to tech stocks, whose brutal start to 2026 turned some of the market’s priciest companies into unexpected bargains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose for a second-straight day, climbing 0.8% on Wednesday for its biggest increase in more than a week. As the market’s rally stretched beyond a third year of gains, investors began to grow concerned that some stocks, and especially technology shares, were now trading at sky-high prices. They started to shift into financials and consumer products—sectors that seemed less likely to be disrupted by artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, or 129 points. Walmart stock’s forward price-to-earnings ratio hit a 26-year high of nearly 45 times last week. Meanwhile, Amazon.com’s fell to a 17-year low of 25. Nvidia now sits at less than 24, after hitting its lowest point since last April’s tariff tantrum earlier this month. The ratios capture how much investors are willing to pay for a dollar’s worth of earnings. Chip designers Cadence and Synopsys gained 7.6% and 4.8% respectively after Cadence posted quarterly results and annual guidance that topped forecasts. E-commerce companies DoorDash and Shopify jumped 6.8% and 7.1%. Shares in Nvidia rose 1.6%, after the chip maker and market heavyweight struck a big AI chip deal with Meta Platforms. Analog Devices shares gained 2.6% after the chip maker posted better-than-forecast quarterly results and guidance. Meanwhile UBS raised to $360 billion its projection for how much so-called “hyperscalers” such as Amazon, Meta and Google will borrow this year for data-center construction and other capital spending. Concerns about ambitious spending helped fuel the pull back in the Nasdaq, which was still down 2.1% year-to-date on Wednesday, after a 20% gain in 2025. Many investors stuck with the rotation trade. Bank stocks gained, with Goldman Sachs up 1.9% and Wells Fargo up 1.3%. Dollar Tree gained 3.1%. Other darlings of 2026 such as Home Depot and McDonald’s barely budged.

Asia
In Asia, positive signs dominated the stock markets on Thursday. After the holiday break, the Kospi rose by 2.9 percent on the South Korean Stock Exchange. Samsung Electronics, the index heavyweight, climbed by around 4 percent and reached a record high along the way. SK Hynix gained 1.2 percent. Trading on the Kosdaq technology exchange was temporarily suspended amid a rally of more than 6 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei advanced 0.8 percent to 57,594 points. Here, too, investors are snapping up chip stocks. Advantest bucked the positive trend, slumping 3.1 percent following the company's disclosure that it had been the victim of a hacker attack.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields edged higher on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield increased by 3 basis points to 4.08%. Minutes from last month’s Fed meeting released Wednesday showed little appetite for reducing interest rates, with most officials indicating they wanted to see further progress on inflation. Interest-rate futures showed that traders see a 94.1% chance that the Fed will keep rates steady at next month’s meeting, up from 92.6% Tuesday.

Analysis
SGS target price: Jefferies upgrades to CHF 100 (90) – Hold
Novartis target price: Julius Bär increases to CHF 130 (100) – Hold
Roche target price: Berenberg raises to CHF 340 (320) – Hold

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