The sale of a stake in Nestlé's water business is moving forward, the FT reports, citing unnamed sources. This division includes brands such as Perrier and San Pellegrino. According to the FT, the investment groups CD&R, KKR, and PAI are participating in the next round of bidding for a 50% stake in the division. This transaction could value the entire business unit at around €5 billion ($5.76 billion), the FT reported. Another firm, Platinum Equity, has also expressed interest in the transaction, according to FT. Nestlé, CD&R, KKR, and PAI declined to comment to FT. Platinum did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swiss market ended on a weak note on Friday, in line with markets across Europe, as concerns about the conflict in the Middle East continued to force investors away from riskier assets. The benchmark SMI, which stayed weak right through the day's session, settled with a loss of 71.70 points or 0.57% at 12,570.26. VAT Group ended down by 4.2%. Swisscom and Logitech International closed lower by 3.9% and 3.5%, respectively. Kuehne + Nagel drifted down 2.6% and ABB settled 2.3% down. Straumann Holding, Holcim, Amrize, SGS, Alcon, Julius Baer, Sika, Galderma Group and Richemont lost 1%-2%. Geberit, Parterns Group and UBS also closed weak. Novartis announced that it has agreed to acquire Excellergy, Inc., a privately held biotech company developing next-generation anti-IgE therapies for allergic diseases. The Novartis stock closed lower by about 0.3%. Swiss Re, Lindt & Spruengli, Givaudan and Nestle posted modest gains.

Europe
European stocks fell on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, amid a lack of meaningful progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks, and concerns about inflation, growth and interest rates. Energy stocks found support as oil prices climbed higher amid concerns about supply disruptions. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.95%. Germany's DAX ended down 1.38%, France's CAC 40 closed 0.87% down, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.05%, while Switzerland's SMI settled with a loss of 0.57%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses. Norway, Russia and Türkiye settled modestly lower. In the UK market, Metlen Energy & Metals tumbled 8.6%. Babcock International, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, AutoTrader Group, British Land, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Convatec Group, Entain, Pershing Square Holdings and Informa lost 2%-5%. Lloyds Banking Group, Prudential, Marks & Spencer, Scottish Mortgage and Experian also ended notably lower. AstraZeneca climbed nearly 3.5% after saying its experimental treatment tozorakimab met the main goal in two late-stage trials. Endeavour Mining, Rio Tinto, Glencore, 3i Group, Tesco and Reckitt Benckiser gained 1%-2%. In the German market, Rheinmetall, Infineon, Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines, Commerzbank, Qiagen, Siemens, RWE, Zalando, Merck, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, Deutsche Bank and Heidelberg Materials declined sharply. BASF and Symrise gained about 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Hannover Re, Munich Re and Deutsche Boerse posted modest gains. In the French market, Schneider Electric slid 4.8%. Legrand, ArcelorMittal, STMicroelectronics, Teleperformance, Saint-Gobain, Airbus, Safran, Unibail Rodamco, Societe Generale, Kering, Hermes International, Bureau Veritas and Carrefour shed 1%-2.5%.

United States
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. The major averages moved to the downside early in the session and slid even more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed. The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but still posted steep losses. The Nasdaq plunged 459.72 points or 2.2 percent to 20,948.36, the Dow tumbled 793.47 points or 1.7 percent to 45,166.64 and the S&P 500 slumped 108.31 points or 1.7 percent to 6,368.85. For the week, the Nasdaq plummeted by 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 dove by 2.1 percent and the Dow slid by 0.9 percent. The steep losses dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in over eight months. A continued surge by the price of crude oil weighed on Wall Street, with international benchmark Brent crude futures jumping back above $110 a barrel after soaring by more than 5 percent during Thursday's trading. The extended spike by crude oil prices came even though President Donald Trump extended the pause on attacking Iran's energy plants by 10 days to April 6th. Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 4.7 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Biotechnology, software and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Financial, retail and healthcare stocks also showed significant moves to the downside, while gold stocks bucked the downtrend amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

Asia
On Monday, the slide in Asian share markets continued almost unabated following Wall Street’s fall at the end of last week. Concerns that a war in Iran could have serious consequences for global inflation and growth are driving investors away from shares. The Nikkei 225 fell 3.4 per cent to 51,535 points, though it had previously been down even more sharply. In Japan, some shares are also trading ex-dividend. Chip and electronics stocks lead the list of losers.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries regained ground after an early slump but still closed in the red. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.4 basis points to an eight-month closing high of 4.440 percent after reaching a high of 4.484 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers Air France-KLM target price to EUR 10 (13.95) – Neutral
UBS lowers EasyJet target price to 700 (800) GBp – Buy
UBS lowers Lufthansa target price to EUR 9.40 (9.50) – Buy

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.