UBS Group reported a jump in third-quarter net profit, boosted by fees from wealthy clients and corporate dealmaking and the release of litigation provisions. The Swiss banking giant said net profit for the third quarter was $2.48 billion, up from $1.425 billion in the year-earlier period. The figure beat analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by the bank. UBS said, “We are confident in our ability to deliver on our 2026 financial targets, leveraging the power of our diversified business model and global footprint.” The latest results included net litigation reserve releases of $668 million, mainly due to the resolution of legal matters related to Credit Suisse's Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities business and UBS's legacy cross-border activities in France.

The Swiss market kept drifting lower and lower after a weak start on Tuesday and eventually ended the day's session firmly in negative territory. The benchmark SMI ended down by 167.44 points or 1.34% at 12,360.15, slightly off the session's low of 12,343.31. Sika ended nearly 6% down. The stock lost ground as JP Morgan cut its rating to 'underweight' from 'neutral', and cut its target price sharply to CHF 160. Novartis closed 4.1% down. The drugmaker has defended its $12 billion deal to acquire Avidity Biosciences ahead of the U.S. firm getting late-stage data for its muscle disorder treatment next year, saying it was 'an appropriate risk to take'. Roche Holding, Straumann Holding, Sonova, Lindt & Spruengli, Alcon, Givaudan, Swiss Re, Lonza Group and VAT Group lost 1.3 to 2.4%. Holcim gained nearly 1% after JP Morgan raised the stock's target price. Galderma Group climbed about 2.3%. Amrize gained 1.14%. Swatch Group and UBS Group also closed on a firm note.

Europa
European stocks settled mostly lower on Tuesday as investors reacted a slew of corporate earnings announcements, and awaited interest rate decisions from several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Data showing a drop in German consumer confidence in the month of October weighed on sentiment. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.25%. Germany's DAX edged down 0.1% and France's CAC 40 lost 0.27%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.44%. Switzerland's SMI closed down by 1.34%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden ended higher. Finland, Poland, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed weak, while Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland and Portugal ended flat. In the UK market, Airtel Africa soared nearly 16.5% after reporting profit after tax of $376 million for the six months ending September 30, 2025, a whopping jump from $79 million in the corresponding period last year. This performance was boosted by currency gains and successful strategy implementation. HSBC Holdings climbed 4.6% after raising its profit outlook for 2025 despite reporting a 14% decline in third-quarter pretax profit. In the third quarter, profit before tax fell 14% to $7.30 billion from last year's $8.48 billion. Looking ahead, HSBC now expects banking Net interest income to be $43 billion or better in 2025, reflecting increased confidence in the near-term trajectory for policy rates in key markets, including in Hong Kong and the UK. Vodafone Group gained about 4.5%. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Barclays Group, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc and Standard Chartered closed higher by 2 to 2.5%.

Stati Uniti
Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday but largely maintained a positive bias and ended the day mostly higher. The major averages added to the strong gains posted during Monday's session, once again reaching new record closing highs. The major averages pulled back off their highs in late-day trading but still closed in positive territory. The Nasdaq advanced 190.04 points or 0.8 percent to 23,827.49, the Dow climbed 161.78 points or 0.3 percent to 47,706.37 and the S&P 500 rose 15.73 points or 0.2 percent to 6,890.89. The strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which led to the rally on Monday amid optimism about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China. News of a rare metals deal between the U.S. and Japan may have increased confidence ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this week. Traders are also looking ahead to the release of earnings news from a number of big-name tech companies, with Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSGFT) and Amazon (AMZN) due to report their quarterly results in the coming days. In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a modest deterioration by consumer confidence in the month of October. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 94.6 in October from an upwardly revised 95.6 in September. Networking stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.6 percent to a record closing high. Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. On the other hand, airline stocks moved sharply lower on the day, resulting in a 4.1 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Asia
With the exception of Australia, the region's major stock markets rose across the board on Wednesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 2.2 percent to 51,313 points, driven in part by hopes for economic measures from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In addition, an agreement with the US on rare earths was well received. Shares from the chip sector led the list of winners. Advantest rose 22 percent after convincing financial results, while Lasertec was up 8.2 percent.

Obbligazioni
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength after ending the previous session roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 3.983 percent.

Analisi
UBS raises Nokia target to EUR 5.40 (4.10) – Neutral
UBS lowers Dassault Systemes target to EUR 28.25 (33) – Neutral
Bank of America raises HSBC target to 1,160 (1,130) p – Neutral

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.