Arbonia returned to profit last year. Refocusing its activities on door manufacturing by selling its Climate division, the equipment manufacturer posted a net profit for continuing operations of CHF 2.74 million, compared with a net loss of CHF 14.1 million in 2023. However, the net result includes one-off items, in particular a gain on the disposal of a plot of land at the Arbon headquarters, as well as charges relating to the acquisitions of Dimoldura, in Spain, and Lignis, in the Czech Republic, and to the divestment of the Climate division, Arbonia said on Monday. Excluding one-off effects, the loss widened from €12.4 million to €18.6 million. The group's net profit, including the results of the Climate division, which was sold to Midea Electrics Netherlands, a subsidiary of the Chinese Midea group specialising in air conditioners, for just over CHF 696 million, came to 8.28 million, compared with a net loss of 17.21 million twelve months earlier.

The Swiss market started off on a sluggish note on Monday amid tariff concerns, but gained in strength as the day progressed as investors picked up stocks from across several sectors. Data showing a notable improvement in Switzerland's manufacturing activity in the month of Februry aided sentiment. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 162.20 points or 1.25% at 13,166.68, after hitting a high of 13,199.05 intraday. Partners Group rallied about 4.3%. VAT Group climbed nearly 3.5% and Kuehne + Nagel gained 3.4%. Swiss Re ended nearly 2% up. Julius Baer and Nestle both ended higher by about 1.7%. Roche gained about 1.2%. The company reported positive results from its last-state OutMatch study, which demonstrated that its Xolair drug surpassed multi-allergen oral immunotheraphy in terms of effectiveness in the second and third stages of the trial. Lonza Group, Swiss Life Holding, Sika, Novartis, Logitech International, Straumann Holding, UBS Group, Alcon and Zurich Insurance gained 1 to 1.6%.

Europe
European markets closed higher on Monday, led by strong gains posted by defense stocks amid rising prospects of increased military spending by European countries. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that European leaders had agreed to draft a peace plan for Ukraine to present to the US, after a meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ended disastrously. Investors also bet on a rate cut by the European Central Bank this week. Worries about fresh tariffs by the Trump administration lingered but that did not deter investors from picking up stocks. Defense stocks such as Rheinmetall, Thyssenkrupp, Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Dassault Systemes and Thales posted strong gains. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.14%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.85%, Germany's DAX jumped 2.68% and France's CAC 40 closed stronger by 1.45%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 1.25% up. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Austria, Portugal and Spain posted modest gains. Denmark and Russia ended weak, while Iceland and Ireland settled flat. In the UK market, defense stocks BAE Systems soared nearly 15% and Rolls-Royce Holdings climbed about 4.5%.

United States
After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunging to a four-month closing low. The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Nasdaq dove 497.09 points or 2.6 percent to 18,350.19, the S&P 500 tumbled 104.78 points or 1.8 percent to 5,849.72 and the Dow slumped 649.67 points or 1.5 percent to 43,191.24. The substantial weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs. During an appearance on Fox News over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the proposed 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada as 'fluid' but said the additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China is 'set.' Trump later clarified that the 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will take effect tomorrow and reciprocal tariffs on other U.S. trade partners will be imposed on April 2nd. On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity edged slightly lower in February but still indicated growth in the sector for the second straight month.

Asia
US President Donald Trump sends the Asian stock markets to their lowest levels in a month on Tuesday. China has now also responded and countered the tariffs on Chinese imports from the US with counter-tariffs from 10 March, with Canada also announcing reactions. In Japan, the Nikkei-225 falls by 1.6 per cent to 37,173 points - also weighed down by the soaring yen. Export-heavy stocks from the automotive and semiconductor sectors are sold off - the latter also burdened by the Nvidia crash in the USA. Advantest lost 8.2 per cent, SoftBank 5.7 per cent and Honda Motor 2.1 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved higher, extending a recent upward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 5.1 basis points to a nearly three-month closing low of 4.180 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Alcon target to CHF 100 (95) – Buy
UBS raises U-Blox target to CHF 81 (71) – Neutral
HSBC raises Rheinmetall target to EUR 1,275 (1,000) – Buy

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