German auto giant BMW is recalling over 390,000 vehicles in the U.S. because of defective airbag inflators that may explode upon deployment, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Wednesday. According to a statement, the original steering wheel may have been replaced with a sport or M-sport steering wheel equipped with an inflator that can explode during deployment. Dealers will inspect and replace the driver's air bag module as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 23, 2024. 'In the event of an inflator rupture, metal fragments could pass through the air bag cushion material, which may result in injury or death to vehicle occupants,' BMW said in the recall report. BMW has received no reports of deaths or injuries in the U.S. in connection with this issue, according to the recall documents.

Swiss stocks closed on a strong note on Wednesday, holding firm right through the day's session, thanks to sustained buying at several counters amid optimism about earnings and the outlook for interest rates. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 113.83 points or 0.95% at 12,151.19, slightly off the day's high of 12,153.42. Swisscom gained more than 2%. Roche Holdings, UBS Group, Swiss Life Holding and Kuehne + Nagel climbed 1.5 to 1.8%. Novartis, Partners Group, Zurich Insurance and Lonza Group gained 1 to 1.25%. Richemont, ABB, Nestle, Geberit, Sika, SIG Group, Swatch Group, Julius Baer and VAT Group also ended higher. SGS ended on a firm note after announcing its agreement to purchase France-based cosmetics clinical research organization Institut d'Expertise Clinique. Completion of the deal remains subject to customary pre-closing conditions. Flughafen Zurich gained about 1.5%. The Zurich Airport operator said that passenger traffic jumped 8.1% year over year to 2,808,339, in June, while its total turnover increased 6.9% to 57 million francs. The Zurich Airport operator's shares rose 1.49% at closing. Logitech International ended down 3.62%. Alcon, Givaudan and Straumann Holdings drifted down 1.05%, 0.85% and 0.68%, respectively.

Europe
European stocks closed on a firm note on Wednesday with investors shifting their focus away from the political scene, indulging in some buying ahead of a slew of key economic data, including a report on U.S. consumer price inflation. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.91%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.66%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.94% and 0.86%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI jumped 0.95%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Greece, Iceland, Poland, Russia and Turkiye ended weak. In the UK market, Endeavour Mining Plc and Fresnillo both gained nearly 4%. Entain, Prudential, EasyJet, Centrica, London Metric Property, Schrodders, Sainsbury (J), Next, United Utilities, Marks & Spencer, Land Securities, Melrose Industries, Segro, Severn Trent, Kingfisher and Vodafone Group climbed 2 to 3.3%. Sage Group, WPP and Smith (DS) lost 1 to 2%. Barratt Developments declined sharply. Citing high mortgage rates and broader economic concerns, the housebuilder said it is targeting to deliver fewer homes in the year ahead. In the German market, Vonovia rallied more than 4%. Porsche gained about 3.7%, and Bayer advanced 3%. Adidas, Qiagen, Siemens Energy, BMW, Zalando, Siemens, Daimler Truck Holding, E.ON, Fresenius Medical Care, Mercedes-Benz, RWE and Infineon also ended with strong gains. Covestro, BASF and MTU Aero Engines ended notably lower. Volkswagen ended modestly lower after a warning that it may close the Brussels site of its luxury brand Audi due to a sharp drop in demand for high-end electric cars.

United States
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite cruised to fresh records Wednesday, with investors appearing more confident that interest-rate cuts are on their way. The broad index logged its sixth straight record close—its longest such streak since 2021—with all 11 of its sectors advancing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite notched its seventh record in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also turned higher, snapping a two-day losing streak. Major indexes rose as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke to a House committee, after his first day of congressional testimony on Tuesday inched the Fed closer to lowering interest rates. In his testimony this week, Powell pointed to a cooling labor market and suggested that further softening might be unwelcome. The S&P 500 rose 1% to end at its 37th record close of the year. The Dow industrials added 1.1%, or about 429 points. It is off 0.7% from its record on May 17. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%, notching its 27th record close in 2024. Among individual stocks, it was another big day for some of the market’s biggest drivers this year. Shares of chip maker Nvidia added 2.7%, while Apple shares rose 1.9% and Microsoft shares gained 1.5%. Tesla continued its turnaround after a lengthy spell as a stock-market laggard. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker climbed 0.4% in an 11th consecutive session higher, heading further into positive territory for the year. Earlier this month, investors learned that Tesla’s vehicle sales had fallen for a second straight quarter, but not as much as expected. That might not sound like cause for a furious rally, but investors were already beginning to reconsider the stock.

Asia
The stock markets in East Asia and Australia were mostly up significantly on Thursday.

Bonds
In U.S. bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.280%, from 4.297% on Tuesday.

Analysis
Citi raises Saint-Gobain target to EUR 90 (85) – Buy
UBS lowers Uniper target to 36 (38) EUR – Sell
Barclays lowers Covestro to Equalweight (Overweight) – target EUR 61

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