Chinese search-engine giant Baidu reported lower quarterly revenue amid a weaker performance in its core advertising business, though profit was better than expected. Revenue for the second quarter fell 3.6% from a year earlier to 32.71 billion yuan, equivalent to $4.55 billion, the Beijing-based tech company said Wednesday, roughly in line with analysts’ estimates. Chief Executive Robin Li highlighted the strength of Baidu’s AI cloud business, which continued to deliver robust and healthy revenue growth. “This performance helped mitigate the near-term pressure on online marketing business, as we intensified the AI transformation of Baidu Search to elevate [the] user experience and establish a stronger foundation for long-term growth,” he said. Revenue from its main business segment declined 1.6%, weighed by a 15% drop in online marketing revenue during the quarter. Revenue from its iQIYI video-streaming service fell about 11%. Citi analysts said the double-digit decline in Baidu Core’s online marketing revenue was in line with its forecast, while the company’s AI cloud business could have performed slightly better than expected.

After a weak start and a subsequent drop to lower levels, the Swiss market recovered and stayed subdued till around mid morning on Wednesday, but kept edging higher as the day progressed to eventually ended the session on a firm note. The benchmark SMI settled with a gain of 64.07 points or 0.52% at 12,276.26. The index, which dropped to 12,154.86 in early trades, touched a high of 12,299.60 in the session. Nestle climbed about 3.6% and Lindt & Spruengli gained 3.1%. Givaudan closed stronger by 2.52%, while SGS and Lonza Group both gained nearly 2.2%. Novartis, Zurich Insurance, Swiss Re, Schindler Ps and Swisscom gained 1.1 to 1.5%. Roche Holding and Sonova posted moderate gains. Amrize and Geberit closed down by 3.56% and 3.04%, respectively. Straumann Holding and ABB ended 1.25% down from their previous closing levels. Logitech International, Partners Group, VAT Group, Holcim, SIG Group, Richemont, Sika and UBS Group also closed notably lower.

Europe
European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday after another cautious session, as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium that gets underway on Thursday, and continued to focus on the developments on the trade and geopolitical front. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.23%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.08%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down by 0.6% and 0.08%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.52% up. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher. Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Russia and Sweden ended weak. Austria, Finland, Greece and Spain settled flat. In the UK market, Convatec Group climbed 5.62% on strong buying on news of a $300 million share repurchase plan. United Utilities, Unilever, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco, Severn Trent, Relx, Haleon, Endeavour Mining and Reckitt Benckiser gained 2.4% to 3.5%. Polar Capital Technology Trust and Rolls-Royce Holdings closed down by 3.25% and 3.1%, respectively. EasyJet, ICG, Scottish Mortgage and IAG lost 1.5 to 2%. In the German market, Deutsche Boerse, Symrise and Henkel gained 1.6 to 2%. Munich RE, BASF, Fresenius, Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Telekom also closed notably higher. Siemens Energy closed nearly 3% down. Siemens, Heidelberg Materials, MTU Aero Engines, Infineon, Porsche, Brenntag, SAP, Deutsche Post and Daimler Truck Holding lost 1 to 2%. In the French market, Danone rallied more than 3%. Kering, Pernod Ricard, L'Oreal, Engie, Eurofins Scientific, EssilorLuxottica, Dassault Systemes and Carrefour gained 1 to 2.5%. Schneider Electric and Saint Gobain ended lower by about 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Airbus, Legrand, ArcelorMittal, Accor, Stellantis and Societe Generale also closed notably lower. In economic news, UK consumer price inflation accelerated to an 18-month high in July on airfares and food prices, suggesting that the Bank of England is likely to delay further easing. The consumer price index posted an annual growth of 3.8% after rising 3.6% in June, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday.

United States
After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, although the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 remained in negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 142.10 points or 0.7 percent at 21,172.86 after plunging by as much as 1.9 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 also dipped 15.59 points or 0.2 percent to 6,395.78, while the Dow inched up 16.04 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,938.31 The early weakness on Wall Street largely reflected an extended sell-off by technology stocks, which led the markets lower during Tuesday's session. Tech stocks moved lower following a report from Reuters indicating the Trump administration is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that receive CHIPS Act funding to build factories in the country. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had confirmed on Tuesday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was working on a deal to take a 10 percent stake in Intel (INTC). Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday. Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September. Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.3 percent. Significant weakness was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent slump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Asia
Most stock markets in East Asia and Australia rose on Thursday. In Asia, the stock markets in Sydney (+1.0%) and Seoul (+0.7%) saw particularly strong gains.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.296 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers target for Suss Microtec to EUR 30 (40) – Neutral
Citi lowers BHP to Neutral (Buy) – target unchanged at 2,100 p
Citi raises Intesa target to EUR 6.50 (5.10) – Buy