PepsiCo tapped a Walmart executive to fill its top finance role as the packaged-food company aims to turn around its slowing soda and snack sales. Also on Thursday, PepsiCo said fiscal third-quarter revenue rose, which Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta attributed to resiliency in its international business and improved momentum in its North American beverage unit. Steve Schmitt will assume PepsiCo’s CFO role effective Nov. 10, succeeding Jamie Caulfield, who plans to retire after more than three decades at the company, the company said Thursday. Schmitt, 52 years old, has served as finance chief of Walmart’s U.S. arm since 2021. Prior to joining the retail goliath in 2016, he held several roles of increasing leadership during a decade-long tenure at Yum! Brands. In his new role, Schmitt will join a leadership team tasked with turning around a struggling business, up against an activist investor. PepsiCo in recent years has struggled to win back soda drinkers after ceding market share to rivals, while its food business - once an engine for growth - has stalled as inflation-weary shoppers cut back on snacks.

The Switzerland market spent much of the day's trading session on Thursday as investors refrained from making significant moves amid a lack of positive catalysts. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 38.96 points or 0.31% at 13,609.15, the day's low. Richemont closed nearly 3% down. Logitech International ended 2.84% down. UBS Group, Swiss Re and Alcon lost 1.43%, 1.4% and 1.17%, respectively. Zurich Insurance, Kuehne + Nagel, Galderma Group, Sonova, Straumann Holding and Swatch Group lost 0.5 to 0.9%. Lindt & Spruengli rallied 3.6%. Sandoz Group gained nearly 2% and Holcim climbed 1.85%. Roche Holding advanced 0.8%.

Europa
Most of the markets across Europe ended on a weak note on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about the political situation in France, and a lack of significant data. Bank stocks were under pressure. French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly looking to appoint a new prime minister tomorrow. According to reports, majority of lawmakers were against holding a snap parliamentary election amid France's worst crisis in decades. The Pan European Stoxx 600 closed down by 0.43%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.41% down and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.23%, while Germany's DAX edged up 0.06%. Switzerland's SMI lost 0.31%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Russia ended higher. Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak, while Norway ended flat. In the UK market, IAG climbed about 3.2%. Anglo American Plc, Weir Group, SSE, Metlen Energy & Metals, Schroders, Entain, Reckitt Benckiser, GSK, Fresnillo, Unilever, United Utilities, AstraZeneca and Smith & Nephew gained 1 to 2.2%. WPP ended nearly 6% down. Barratt Redrow, Burberry Group, JD Sports Fashion, Croda International, Prudential and Endeavour Mining closed lower by 2 to 3.6%. HSBC Holdings lost about 5.4% after the lender proposed taking its troubled Hong Kong subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd. Private. Concerns over high premium paid for the acquisition, and the suspension of share buybacks for three quarters weigh on HSBC stock. Lloyds Banking Group ended lower by 3.3% after the lender warned of additional provision linked to car finance mis-selling. Barclays drifted down 2.1%, Standard Chartered declined by about 1.65%, and Natwest Group settled lower by 1.3%. In the German market, Heidelberg Materials and Bayer gained 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Deutsche Telekom, Fresenius and Siemens Energy gained 1.2 to 1.5%. In the French market, Danone climbed nearly 5%. Engie, Bouygues and Veolia Environment gained 1.6 to 2%. Vinci, Orange, Air Liquide, Eurofins Scientific, Credit Agricole and Carrefour also posted notable gains.

Stati Uniti
Stocks saw some weakness during trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the advance seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back off yesterday's record closing highs. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed well off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Nasdaq edged down 18.75 points or 0.1 percent to 23,024.63, the S&P 500 fell 18.61 points or 0.3 percent to 6,735.11 and the Dow slid 243.36 points or 0.5 percent to 46,358.42. The pullback on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which came amid persistent optimism about the artificial intelligence trade. Investors may also have begun to express concerns about the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which entered its ninth day today with no end in sight. Lawmakers in Washington continue to struggle to pass a temporary funding bill due in part to Democrats' demands that the legislation include an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits. Verbal confrontations between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill on Wednesday suggest the stalemate is likely to drag on. Delta Air Lines expects its rapidly expanding luxury and corporate customer base to overtake the sales it gets from fliers who buy economy seats by 2027, and the trend may prove true for a quarter or two next year. “Much of our growth, if not all of it, will be in the premium sectors,” Delta President Glenn Hauenstein said on a call with analysts Thursday morning. Shares of Delta surged as much as 8% in premarket trade and traded 4% higher by midday Thursday after it unveiled quarterly earnings. A resurgence in travel demand in recent weeks should carry through the fourth quarter of this year, marking a turnaround from a turbulent start to 2025.

Asia
The weaker U.S. figures triggered widespread profit-taking on Asian markets on Friday. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell by 1 per cent to the 48,000 mark. In China, the Shanghai Composite lost half a per cent, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index fell by 1.1 per cent.

Obbligazioni
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved to the downside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 1.9 basis points to 4.148 percent.

Analisi
JPMorgan lowers L'Oreal target to EUR 350 (360) – Neutral
JPMorgan lowers Givaudan to Neutral (Overweight) – Target CHF 4,000 (4,200)
Bank of America raises Lindt & Sprüngli to Buy (Neutral) – Target CHF 144,000 (134,000)

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