Tim Cook, the longtime leader of Apple, is stepping down after transforming the iPhone maker into a titan of the technology industry, handing the reins to a veteran engineer. Apple said John Ternus, the affable head of its hardware division, will take over as chief executive. Ternus, 50 years old, takes the lead of the iPhone maker as it works to rekindle its creative fire and chart a hardware-heavy future in the AI era. He follows Steve Jobs, who led the invention of the most popular consumer product in history, and Cook, who squeezed so much profit from the device that Apple became the world’s most valuable company. His appointment will take effect Sept. 1, when Cook will become executive chairman, succeeding longtime chair Art Levinson. The company’s App Store AI revenue is set to top $1 billion this year simply by collecting subscription fees from companies such as OpenAI. Analysts see that role expanding as Apple prepares to release an overhauled version of its Siri assistant later this year. One of Ternus’s central accomplishments was working with Apple’s in-house silicon team to replace Intel chips inside Mac computers with chips designed by Apple itself. The chips proved more energy efficient and Mac sales soared after the change, which came in 2020. Ternus is well-known inside Apple for his demeanor and engineering competence. Ternus has helped lead a redesign of Apple’s iPhone lineup, one that began with so-called liquid glass software revamp and continued with the iPhone Air last year and a foldable device expected in the fall. Apple has raised Ternus’s profile of late, allowing him to unveil the iPhone Air at its annual iPhone event.

On the Swiss stock market on Monday, the substantial gains from Friday were largely erased. The SMI managed to limit its losses following a small rally at the close. At the end of the day, the index lost 1.1 percent to 13,284 points. The SMI was dragged down, in part, by heavyweight Nestlé. The stock lost 2.8 percent, or 2.22 francs. However, the stock was trading ex-dividend. The food giant paid out 3.10 francs. Shares of cyclical companies suffered even steeper losses. Amrize dropped 2.7 percent and Lonza 3.2 percent. Geberit and Sika shed 3.0 and 3.2 percent, respectively, while Holcim gave up 2.3 percent. The day’s winners were Swisscom, considered less cyclical, with a rise of 1.5 percent. Kühne+Nagel climbed 0.9 percent. Logistics companies are seen as beneficiaries of the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as this is likely to result in rising freight rates.

Europe
European stock markets opened the week in the red amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran, as uncertainty looms over whether new peace talks will take place. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.8% on Monday to 621.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each lost 1.1%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 dropped 1.2%, and the FTSE 100 retreated 0.6% in London. OIL SECTOR: European oil stocks benefited from the sharp rebound in oil prices. In Paris, TOTALENERGIES gained 1.8%, while ENI climbed 2.5% in Milan. In London, SHELL rose 2.5% and BP advanced 2.9%. CARREFOUR (+1.5%): The retailer announced Friday evening that it had signed an agreement to sell its minority stake in the CarrefourSA chain in Turkey to its local competitor Aydin. RUBIS (+1.2%): The oil products distributor is considering acquiring its competitor Puma Energy, a subsidiary of the Singaporean group Trafigura, Bloomberg reported Saturday. PERNOD RICARD (-0.7%): The Brown family, which controls the Brown-Forman spirits group, reportedly favours a potential sale to Pernod Ricard over an alternative proposal from its unlisted American rival Sazerac, Bloomberg stated on Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

United States
Stocks slipped and oil prices rose Monday, with fresh tensions between the U.S. and Iran casting a shadow over Wall Street. Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark, rose 5.6% to $95.48 a barrel. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 declined 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 5 points, or less than 0.1%. Fermi sank 18% as the data-center developer announced the departure of CEO Toby Neugebauer and an overhaul of its board. Intel dropped 4.1% to $65.70, placing it squarely among the worst performing S&P 500 stocks. AST SpaceMobile declined 5.3% after the satellite maker suffered a setback in its plan for space-based broadband internet. Marvell Technology advanced 5.8%. Alphabet’s Google is in talks with the company to develop two custom artificial-intelligence chips, the Information reported Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Shares in Broadcom, which earlier this month extended an AI chip design partnership with Google, declined 1.7%. TopBuild surged 19%. Building products distributor QXO on Sunday said it would acquire the insulation company for $17 billion. TopBuild is one of the largest distributors and installers of insulation in North America. QXO fell 3.1% on Monday. AtaiBeckley soared 22%. The biopharmaceutical company and its smaller peers were benefiting from President Donald Trump’s executive order Saturday fast-tracking the regulatory review of certain psychedelic drugs. USA Rare Earth jumped 13% after the miner agreed to acquire Serra Verde, the owner of a rare-earth mine and processing plant in Brazil, for $2.8 billion in cash and stock.

Asia
Asian indexes diverged for the Tuesday trading session. Led by the South Korean stock market, where the KOSPI rose 2.3 percent to reach a new record high, the region’s indices are buoyed by AI-related optimism, according to market participants. SK Hynix shares climbed another 4.6 percent. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 1.6 percent. In Tokyo, the Topix is up 0.2 percent. Tech stocks are in demand here as well. Lasertec jumped 5.6 percent and SoftBank Group shot up 7.7 percent. Chinese stock markets are trading largely unchanged. The IPO of Nvidia supplier Victory Giant Technology in Hong Kong is off to a strong start: The stock surged 53 percent in early trading.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields rose on Monday as a rebound in oil futures stirred inflation fears. The 10-year Treasury note yield increased by 2 basis points to 4.26%.

Analysis
Target price for Oerlikon: Kepler Cheuvreux lowers to CHF 3.65 (4.50) – Hold
Target price for Partners Group: Barclays reduces to CHF 1,200 (1,330) – Overweight
Target price for Sonova: Bernstein SG cuts to CHF 248 (256) – Outperform

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