OpenAI, which kick-started the artificial-intelligence boom with the 2022 release of ChatGPT, is officially preparing to stage an initial public offering that will test investor appetite for AI companies. The company led by Sam Altman confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the startup said in a written statement. The filing sets up the company to potentially go public as soon as this fall, though OpenAI said it hasn’t yet decided on timing. OpenAI said in a written statement that “it may be a while” until it goes public because there are “things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.” There are a “complicated set of tradeoffs” tied to going public, it said, without elaborating further. OpenAI, SpaceX and Anthropic are all pursuing public listings at mammoth valuations. SpaceX is the farthest along, with plans to stage a listing later this week that will be the biggest IPO in history and could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

The Swiss market started off on a slightly weak note on Tuesday but swiftly moved into positive territory and then stayed firm throughout the session to close modestly up. The benchmark SMI, which edged down to 13,275.93 at the start climbed to 13,468.73 in the final hour before settling at 13,356.31, gaining 35.32 points or 0.27%. Givaudan climbed about 7.5% following rating upgrades from JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Sika gained nearly 2% and Richemont moved up 1.7%. Nestle closed nearly 1.5% up. Lonza Group and Zurich Insurance ended higher by 1.23% and 1.09%, respectively. Novartis, Alcon, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Swiss Life Holding, SGS and Swiss Re gained 0.4%-0.9%. ABB drifted down 2.61%. Logitech International ended nearly 2% down. Partners Group, Roche, VAT Group and Julius Baer lost 1.1%-1.4%. Kuehne + Nagel, Holcim, Galderma Group, Schindler Ps and Sonova also closed weak.

Europe
Despite spending much of the day's trading session in positive territory, most of the major markets in Europe closed on a weak note on Tuesday due to a sell-off in the final hour. The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.5%. The UK's FTSE 100 tumbled 1.41% and Germany's DAX slid 0.74%, while France's CAC 40 edged up 0.05%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.27%. Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed weak. Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland and Russia ended higher, while Austria closed flat. In the UK market, mining, energy and bank stocks declined, contributing to the sharply lower close. Croda International climbed about 4%. Bunzl, Entain, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Unilever, British Land, Land Securities, Coca-Cola HBC, Metlen Energy & Metals, Berkeley Group Holdings, Associated British Foods, Smith & Nephew and Haleon gained 1.3%-2.5%. Standard Chartered shed 6.3%. Fresnillo lost 5.1%, while HSBC Holdings, Glencore, Prudential, St. James's Place, Endeavour Mining, BT Group, Antofagasta, BP, Weir Group, Bobcock International, Anglo American Pc, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Shell and Rio Tinto lost 1.8%-4.5%. In the German market, Symrise climbed more than 7%. Henkel, Beiersdorf, Siemens Healthineers, Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care, Adidas, Munich RE, Commerzbank, Hannover RE, Heidelberg Materials, Allianz and Gea Group gained 1%-3%. Siemens Energy tumbled nearly 6%. Infineon lost 3.3%. SAP, BMW, Siemens and Mercedes-Benz shed 1.3%-2%. In the French market, EssilorLuxottica climbed nearly 4%. Kering moved up 2.5%, while Pernod Ricard, LVMH, Air Liquide, Danone, L'Oreal, Saint Gobain, Hermes International, AXA, Publicis Groupe and Michelin gained 1%-2%. STMicroelectronics drifted down nearly 6%. ArcelorMittal lost about 4%. Schneider Electric ended lower by about 2.6%, while Telperformance, Capgemini, Stellantis, Veolia Environment, Legrand, Bouygues, TotalEnergies and Dassault Systemes shed 1%-2%. In economic news, data from Destatis showed Germany's exports increased unexpectedly in April, rising 0.9% month-on-month following March's 0.3% increase. Economists had forecast exports to fall 0.3%. Meanwhile, growth in imports eased notably to 1.2% from 4.5%.

United States
Following the sell-off seen last Friday and the subsequent rebound on Monday, stocks went on another roller coaster ride over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages moved to the upside early in the session before pulling sharply only to regain ground in afternoon trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq eventually ended the session down 250.84 points or 1 percent at 25,678.82. The S&P 500 also fell 19.08 points or 0.3 percent to 7,386.65, while the narrower Dow rose 86.10 points or 0.2 percent to 50,872.11. The notable pullback by the Nasdaq came amid renewed weakness among tech stocks, which had regained some ground on Monday following last Friday's sell-off. Semiconductor stocks helped lead the sector lower before rebounding, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 1.9 percent after spiking by 5.6 percent in the previous session. Computer hardware, networking and software stocks also moved significantly lower, contributing to the slump by the Nasdaq. Outside the tech sector, energy stocks also saw considerable weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil. U.S. crude oil futures plunged below $90 a barrel after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. and Iran could reach a peace deal within 'two or three days.' Meanwhile, airline stocks benefitted from the steep drop in crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 3.7 percent. Housing stocks also showed a substantial move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.6 percent.

Asia
An escalation of the war with Iran is putting pressure on Asian stock markets on Wednesday. Following the downing of a US helicopter, the US has retaliated with massive strikes on Iranian targets. According to Iranian media, Tehran subsequently attacked US bases in the Gulf region and in Jordan. The military clashes are raising doubts about the prospects of a possible peace agreement. However, the only moderate rise in oil prices suggests that investors are still hoping for an agreement to end the war.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries regained ground after trending lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2.4 basis points to 4.528 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers Kardex target to CHF 346 (357) – Buy
Italgas upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Citi
Jefferies lowers Aroundtown target to EUR 2 (2.30) – Underperform

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