UniCredit said it converted part of its position in peer Commerzbank into stock, raising its equity stake in the German bank it hopes to engineer a merger with to 26%. The Italian lender said Monday that it converted financial instruments it holds in the bank into physical shares, consolidating the equity stake into its accounts. UniCredit has been circling Commerzbank since last September, when it first disclosed that it amassed an around 9.5% initial stake in the German group through share purchases and flagged interest in a potential tie-up. In the following months, it accumulated financial contracts tied to Commerzbank shares in the form of derivatives. The Italian group will convert the remaining synthetic position - which it holds through instruments such as derivatives - in due course to take its position to around 29%, as previously announced, it added. UniCredit also said that the impact on its common equity Tier 1 ratio - a measure of balance-sheet strength - from the 29% stake in Commerzbank will be higher due to the increased share price and adjustments in its hedging strategy. The hit is now expected to be around 145 basis points against 110 basis points previously.

After a weak start and a subsequent long spell in negative territory, the Switzerland market briefly moved slightly above the flat line in late afternoon trades on Monday, but quickly tumbled again to eventually settle on a weak note. The benchmark SMI closed down by 58.49 points or 0.48% at 12,206.36, near the day's low. Straumann Holding, Kuehne + Nagel, VAT Group, Adecco, Geberit, Sonova, Givaudan, Richemont and Novartis lost 0.7 to 1.2%. SGS, Nestle, Holcim, Roche Holding, Swiss Re, Logitech International, ABB, Zurich Insurance and Lindt & Spruengli ended lower by 0.5 to 0.65%. Swatch Group climbed 1.25%. Lonza Group gained about 1.1%, while Amrize and Sandoz Group ended higher by 0.78% and 0.64%, respectively. On the economic front, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's non-farm payrolls rose 0.6% year-on-year to 5.532 million in the second quarter of 2025, maintaining the same pace as in the previous period.

Europe
European stocks closed on a weak note on Monday after a cautious session as investors awaited key inflation data from major economies in the region, and looked for more details about U.S. - EU trade deal. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.44%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.37% and 1.59%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI lost 0.48%. The UK market was closed for Bank Holiday. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended weak. Belgium, Greece, Poland and Turkiye closed higher, while Iceland ended flat. In the German market, Merck lost nearly 2%. Brenntag, Bayer, Daimler Truck Holding, BASF, Adidas, Deutsche Post, Siemens Energy, Zalando, Sartorius, Porsche, Qiagen, RWE and Mercedes-Benz closed down by 1 to 1.6%. Puma zoomed about 16% on reports that Artemis, the holding company of France's Pinault family, is weighing options for its 29% stake in Puma SE, including a sale, Bloomberg reported on Monday, boosting the sportswear maker's shares. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported the Pinaults were working with advisors to assess options for the asset and had reached out to potential buyers. In the French market, Vinci ended nearly 6% down. Bouygues, AXA, Veolia Environment, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Saint Gobain and Credit Agricole closed lower by 3 to 4.5%. Eurofins Scientific, Engie, Capgemini, Pernod Ricard, Michelin, Orange, Accor, Publicis Groupe, Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Sanofi also ended notably lower. STMicroElectronics and Vivendi closed moderately higher.

United States
After ending last Friday's trading sharply higher, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages turned in a lackluster performance for much of the session before coming under pressure going into the close. The major averages all finished the day in negative territory. The Dow slid 349.27 points or 0.8 percent to 45,282.47, the S&P 500 fell 27.59 points or 0.4 percent to 6,439.32 and the Nasdaq sipped 47.24 points or 0.2 percent to 21,449.29. The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last Friday, which lifted the Dow to a new record closing high. Traders are likely to keep a close eye on earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling and market leader due to report its second quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday. The latest U.S. economic data is also likely to attract attention, as the Commerce Department is due to release a report on Friday that includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation. On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a repot this morning showing new home sales in the U.S. decreased from an upwardly revised level in the month of July. The Commerce Department said new home sales fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 652,000 in July after surging by 4.1 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 656,000 in June. Biotechnology stocks showed a significant move to the downside over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index slumping by 2.2 percent after ending last Friday's trading at a nearly six-month closing high. Considerable weakness also emerged among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Transportation average.

Asia
Asian stock markets are mostly down on Tuesday. While Japan, South Korea and Malaysia are down by up to 0.9 per cent, other markets are little changed. In Shenzhen, the market even rose by 0.7 per cent. China's stock markets are thus ignoring the latest threats from US President Trump. The previous evening, he threatened the country with tariffs of up to 200 per cent if it did not supply rare earth magnets.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries gave back ground after moving sharply higher during last Friday's session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up 1.5 basis points to 4.275 percent.

Analysis
Vontobel raises Bossard to Buy (Hold) – CHF 210
Vontobel lowers Alcon to CHF 73 (83) – Hold
HAIB raises FACC to EUR 10.60 (10.30) – Buy