Samsung Electronics projected a 19-fold jump in second quarter operating profit, extending its record earnings streak on booming demand for artificial-intelligence chips, though the upbeat outlook did little to lift its shares. The South Korean technology company has extended its run of record quarterly revenue and operating profit since the final quarter of 2025. Its chip-making division is expected to fuel even stronger earnings growth this year, many analysts said, citing booming demand for AI chips. Samsung said in a preliminary earnings report Tuesday that its operating profit likely reached an all-time high of about 89.4 trillion won, equivalent to $58.47 billion, for the three months ended June. That would be a 56% jump from the previous quarter’s record. The projected operating profit surpassed a FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of 85.054 trillion won for the second quarter. Quarterly revenue is forecast to have more than doubled to a record 171 trillion won, Samsung said. Shares, which had already performed exceptionally well this year, fell sharply.

The Swiss market closed higher on Tuesday, bucking the largely weak trend across Europe, thanks to sustained buying at several counters. The benchmark SMI ended up by 58.19 points or 0.41% at 14,360.45, nearly 70 points off the day's high of 14,428.91. Givaudan moved up nearly 2.5%. Roche and Lindt & Spruengli gained 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. Nestle and Swiss Re both gained about 1.7%. Swisscom, Novartis, Richemont and Kuehne + Nagel moved up 1.25%-1.4%. Amrize dropped 5.5%, while VAT Group and ABB closed down by 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively. Holcim shed nearly 2%. Straumann Holding lost 1.89%, while Alcon, Schindler Ps, Lonza Group, Galderma Group, Sandoz Group and Sika ended lower by 0.7%-1.3%. Data released by the Swiss National Bank showed that its foreign exchange reserves rose to CHF 758.8 billion in June, the highest level since February 2023, from the upwardly revised CHF 710.9 billion in May.

Europe
European stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday as a sell-off in technology sector amid valuation concerns and worries about renewed tensions in the Middle East following attacks on two commercial vehicles in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The sell-off in the sector comes following a near 7% plunge by shares of South Korean memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics amid concerns about spending and demand. The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.65%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended lower by 1.37% and 0.51%, respectively, while the UK's FTSE 100 moved up 0.13%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.41% up. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden ended weak. Belgium and Czech Republic declined marginally. Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Türkiye closed higher, while Ireland settled flat. In the UK market, Halma drifted down 4.5% after the safety equipment maker agreed to buy Dreampath Diagnostics, a France-based provider of automated tissue sample management systems for anatomical pathology laboratories. Airtel Africa dropped 5.2%. Anglo American Plc, Fresnillo, Diploma, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Computacenter, Antofagasta, Aberdeen Group and Weir Group lost 3.1%-4.6%. Rio Tinto, Scottish Mortgage, Spirax Group, IMI, Smiths Group, Endeavour Mining, BAE Systems, Melrose Industries, Barclays and St. James's Place also declined sharply. Associated British Foods climbed about 3.75% and Diageo moved up 3.5%. Babcock International, Compass Group, Unilever, Relx, British Land Company, Tesco, Pearson, Reckitt Benckiser, LSEG, Haleon,Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Sainsbury (J) and Land Securities Group also moved up sharply. BP ended nearly 1.5% up. Shell gained 3.4%. Shell lifted its second-quarter outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes. Victrex shares soared 17%. The specialty polymer maker maintained its full-year guidance after reporting third-quarter revenue growth well ahead of expectations.

United States
U.S. stocks fell as investors fled increasingly volatile artificial-intelligence investments in the wake of Samsung Electronics' earnings report and renewed disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130.76 points, or 0.25%, to 52925.15. The S&P 500 was off by 33.58 points, or 0.45%, to 7503.85. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 302.47, or 1.16%, to 25818.69 and is now down 4.7% from its all-time high of 27093.90 on June 2. Investors are concerned about the sustainability of a boom in chip sales to AI data centers. Skeptics are seeing echoes of the Dotcom bust in 2000, when volatility in semiconductor stocks was also elevated. West Texas Intermediate oil futures rose $1.89 per barrel, or 2.76% to $70.44 a barrel. Oil added to gains in late trading, topping $72, after the U.S. Treasury Department revoked licenses to purchase Iranian oil in reprisal for tanker attacks. Shares of Corning, the maker of optical-fiber equipment needed by data centers, declined $9.42, or 4.8%, to $185.38. Caterpillar, which has seen generator sales soar due to AI demand, lost $29.80, or 3.07%, to $940.12. SpaceX was down $10.95, or 6.82%, to $149.47, despite the rocketry and artificial-intelligence company's shares addition to the Nasdaq 100, a widely tracked index of large tech companies. Walmart shares rose 89 cents, or 0.8%, to $111.54 after the retail giant said it would cut prices on a range of products, including ground beef and packages of Coca-Cola.

Asia
Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid concerns about the re-escalation in the Middle East and the related spike in crude oil prices that would translate to higher inflation and could keep interest rates elevated. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

Bonds
The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury rose 0.037 percentage point to 4.161%, its largest gain since June 22. The yield on the 10-year note rose 0.050 percentage point to 4.529% for its sixth straight gain. That was the longest streak of gains for the 10-year yield since October 2024.

Analysis
UBS lowers its target price for Dormakaba to CHF 61 (69) – Neutral
UBS upgrades Medartis to Buy (Neutral) – target price CHF 97 (87)
Barclays upgrades Legrand to Overweight

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