Chip giant Nvidia reported record sales and income Wednesday, driven by surging demand for data-center computing and the astronomical rise of artificial-intelligence agents. Sales for the April quarter reached $81.6 billion, up 85% from the year-earlier period and beating the $78.9 billion that analysts polled by FactSet had forecast by 3.4%. Net income was $58.3 billion for the quarter, more than three times the year-earlier result and 36.5% higher than the $42.9 billion analysts had predicted. “Demand has gone parabolic,” Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in a conference call with analysts. “The reason is simple: The era of agentic AI is here.” The record-high sales were driven by growth in Nvidia’s data-center segment, especially the sale of computing hardware, which includes the company’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, as well as other chips. Sales of networking hardware tripled from a year ago to a record $14.8 billion. The company also announced two shareholder-friendly changes: an $80 billion share buyback plan and an increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend from one penny a share to 25 cents. Chief Financial Officer Collette Kress said in a conference call that the company intends to return 50% of its free cash flow this year to shareholders.

The Swiss market opened on a weak note on Wednesday and despite spending much of the day's session in the red, ended modestly higher thanks to selective buying at a few counters in the final hour. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 13,256.10 around mid morning, climbed to 13,499.32 a few minutes before the closing bell, but dropped down to 13,399.29, settling with a gain of 34.49 points or 0.26%. VAT Group climbed 3.25%. Galderma Group ended nearly 3% up. Straumann Holding, ABB and UBS Group gained 2%-2.2%. Holcim, Richemont, Amrize, Sonova, Geberit and Partners Group advanced 1.1%-2%. Sandoz Group, Lonza Group, Kuehne + Nagel, Julius Baer, SGS and Swiss Re also closed higher. Nestle drifted down by about 1.6%. Lindt & Spruengli, Novartis and Roche closed lower by 0.4%-0.7%.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as hopes of a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal helped offset concerns about economic growth and prompted investors to indulge in some buying. Data showing a bigger than expected drop in UK inflation contributed as well to the positive sentiment. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.46%. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.99%, Germany's DAX settled with a gain of 1.38% and France's CAC 40 jumped 1.7%. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.26% up. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed with sharp to moderate gains. Iceland and Russia closed weak, while Norway and Türkiye ended flat. In the UK market, Marks & Spencer surged 6.7% after reporting a rebound in second-half profits. Babcock International, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Antofagasta, IAG, Melrose Industries, St. James's Place, Fresnillo and Weir Group gained 4%-5.3%. Shares of water utility Severn Trent gained after upgrading its adjusted earnings forecast for 2026 after reporting robust financial results for the second half of the year. Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, IG Group Holdings, Land Securities Group, ICG, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Persimmon and Barratt Redrow also moved up sharply. Experian shed nearly 3%. The credit and data analytics firm slid despite reporting record annual results and announcing a fresh $1 billion share buyback program. Centrica, Relx, Games Workshop, AutoTrader Group, The Sage Group, 3i Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Smith & Nephew, Shell and BP ended notably lower. In the German market, Infineon climbed more than 5%. MTU Aero Engines, Deutsche Bank, Siemens Energy, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Commerzbank, Zalando, Vonovia, Deutsche Post and Merck gained 2%-4.5%. BASF, SAP, Scout24 and Brenntag ended lower by 1.6%-2.3%. In the French market, STMicroelectronics climbed 6.7%. ArcelorMittal, Societe Generale, Legrand, Accor, Schneider Electric, Safran, Kering, LVMH, Airbus, Saint-Gobain, BNP Paribas and Sanofi gained 2%-5%.

United States
Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, regaining ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside on the day. The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 399.65 points or 1.5 percent to 26,270.36, the Dow shot up 645.47 points or 1.3 percent to 50,009.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.1 percent to 7,432.97. The rally on Wall Street came a steep drop by treasuries yields, which pulled back sharply along with the price of crude oil. Crude oil futures tumbled below $100 a barrel after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. conflict with Iran is in the 'final stages.' At the same time, Trump continued to leave open the possibility of renewing military attacks against Iran, telling reporters, 'We'll either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty.' Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day amid the steep drop by crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 8.1 percent. Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 4.5 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Housing stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, resulting in a 3.8 percent surge by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Gold, banking and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, while oil producer stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil. SpaceX has selected the U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter for its ambitious initial public offering (IPO). The announcement is a further sign that the IPO process is moving forward.

Asia
Hopes for a swift end to the war in Iran and surprisingly strong financial results from Nvidia are boosting stock markets in East Asia and Australia on Thursday. The South Korean stock market is leading the region’s exchanges, with the Kospi rising by 7.8 per cent. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics is bolstering the Kospi with a 7.6 per cent gain. The chip giant has reached an agreement with the unions in the dispute over bonus payments, thereby averting a threatened strike. SK Hynix shares are up 11.5 per cent, buoyed by Nvidia. The AI firm has impressed not only with its financial results but also with an outlook that exceeded market expectations.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries saw a substantial rebound after moving sharply lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, plunged 9.5 basis points to 4.572 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers Ryanair target to EUR 30.45 (33.15) – Buy
UBS raises ASML target to EUR 1,900 (1,600) – Buy
Jefferies downgrades Lanxess to Underperform (Hold) – Target EUR 16 (17)

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