Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena said it is weighing options to preserve its integrity, as its chief executive questioned the impact of Intesa Sanpaolo’s ISP $35 billion takeover bid on the world’s oldest bank and Italy’s economy. Monte dei Paschi’s CEO Luigi Lovaglio said Friday that the Italian lender has a capital buffer that gives it room to support growth, reward shareholders and evaluate strategic opportunities. Lovaglio said the bank saw its 13.3% stake in insurer Assicurazioni Generali as “nice-to-have” but was aware that it had attracted interest from a number of market participants. Monte dei Paschi would also be open to assessing strategic opportunities with rival Banco BPM should they arise, he added. Monte dei Paschi in June became the target of a cash-and-stock bid from larger rival Intesa. BPM initially made a competing merger proposal, but last week abandoned talks after its biggest shareholder, Credit Agricole, raised doubts about the merits of a tie-up. The moves placed Monte dei Paschi—widely considered the world’s oldest bank still in operation—at the center of efforts to consolidate Italy’s finance industry. The bank in recent years recovered from a government bailout, and sought to expand through its purchase of Mediobanca last year.

The Swiss stock market ended modestly higher on Friday after staying positive throughout the day's session thanks to sustained buying at several counters. The benchmark SMI closed up by 26.16 points or 0.18% at 14,544.91, after moving between 14,542.45 and 14,624.87. Sandoz Group climbed 5.2%. Lindt & Spruengli, Galderma Group and Alcon gained 1.6%-1.8%. Sika, Partners Group and Julius Baer ended up by 1.3%-1.6%. Lonza Group, Swiss Re and UBS Group moved up nearly 1%. Sonova, Zurich Insurance Group, Roche, Straumann Holding and Novartis also ended higher. Amrize tanked nearly 9%. Holcim and Swisscom shed 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. ABB, Givaudan and Richemont closed modestly lower. In economic news, consumers in Switzerland remained slightly more pessimistic in July, monthly survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed. The consumer sentiment index dropped to -35.0 in July from -33.0 in the corresponding month last year. Meanwhile, the index improved somewhat from -36 in June. The expected score was -34.0.

Europe
The major stock markets in Europe closed on a positive note on Friday as mostly encouraging earnings updates and decent economic data helped offset concerns about Middle East tensions. Also, weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates anytime soon. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.31%. Germany's DAX moved up 0.69%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.17% and the UK's FTSE 100 ended 0.31% up, while Switzerland's SMI closed 0.18% up. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Norway closed higher. Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Sweden ended weak, while Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Spain and Türkiye closed flat. In the UK market, miners Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining climbed 4.6% and 4.1%, respectively. Diageo moved up 3.3%. St. James's Place, Convatec Group, Experian, IG Group Holdings, Scottish Mortgage, Lion Finance and The Sage Group gained 2%-2.7%.

United States
U.S. stocks rose Friday and treasury yields fell after July payroll data came in far weaker than expected, giving the Federal Reserve reason to hold off on raising interest rates next month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151.83 points, or 0.28%, to 54036.93. The S&P 500 gained 47.68 points, or 0.62%, to 7757.64, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 342.26 points, or 1.30%, to 26690.62. According to preliminary data, there were 1799 advancing issues and 933 declining issues on the NYSE. The economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, a sharp miss against economist expectations of 83,000 gains, while revisions to May and June payrolls showed that 103,000 fewer jobs were created in that stretch than first estimated. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%, though analysts noted the drop reflected fewer Americans looking for work rather than genuine labor market strength. Airbnb gained 17% after raising its full-year revenue forecast, citing growing demand and artificial intelligence improvements to its platform. Atlassian surged 35% after its cloud business accelerated beyond expectations. Trade Desk fell 22% after reporting lower-than-expected revenue. Under Armour slipped after cutting its revenue outlook for the year, now expecting a mid-single-digit percentage decline rather than a slight drop. Wendy's rose after revenue topped expectations and its chief executive said a strategic turnaround plan would be presented at the next quarterly update. SpaceX shares rose 16% on Friday, rebounding from a post-earnings selloff, as retail investors piled in even as a lockup expiration arrived that had some analysts concerned about insider selling. Sweetgreen fell 8% after the cyclosporiasis outbreak weighed on demand and the salad chain lowered its outlook.

Asia
Wall Street’s record highs are boosting Asian stock markets on Monday, with the majority trading higher. South Korea’s Kospi is up 0.6 per cent following further bouts of volatility – once again, the heavyweights SK Hynix (+1.2 per cent) and Samsung Electronics (+0.1 per cent) are setting the market’s direction.

Bonds
U.S. Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which is sensitive to expectations for the interest rates set by the Fed, slipped to 4.203%. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences borrowing costs across the economy, declined to 4.657%.

Analysis
Vontobel raises its target price for Swiss Re to CHF 150 (140) – Buy
UBS raises its target price for Telefónica to EUR 3.90 (3.70) – Neutral
Citi lowers its target price for Novo Nordisk to DKK 310 (330) – Neutral

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