Universal Music Group rejected Bill Ackman-led Pershing Square Capital’s bid to buy the world’s largest music company for about $65 billion Friday, after Universal’s largest shareholder voiced opposition. UMG’s board of directors assessed Pershing Square’s unsolicited offer and found that it “fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG and will not deliver superior value creation.” “UMG has built an unrivalled position in the music industry through clear vision and execution,” said board Chairman Sherry Lansing in a statement, adding that the board has “full confidence” in Chief Executive Lucian Grainge and his team. A Pershing Square spokesperson declined to comment. Cyrille Bollore, chief executive of top UMG shareholder the Bollore Group, had urged the company to rebuff the offer, arguing that Ackman’s proposal undervalued it. The family of French billionaire Vincent Bollore has a roughly 18.5% stake in Universal and nearly 40% of voting rights.

The Swiss market ended modestly higher on Friday after trading firm right through the day's session, thanks largely to sustained buying at several counters. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 37.90 points or 0.28% at 13,542.66, around 75 points off the day's high of 13,616.63. Logitech International, the top gainer in the index, soared 8.2% on better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and sales. The company announced that it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue in the range of $1.19 billion to $1.215 billion. Straumann Holding gained 5.5%. Galderma Group and Richemont moved up 2.7% and 2.1%, respectively. Julius Baer, Schindler Ps, VAT Group and Geberit gained 1.6%-2%. Holcim and Amrize ended higher by 1.44% and 1.25%, respectively. Sonova and UBS gained nearly 1%. Alcon, Kuehne + Nagel, Sika and Sandoz also ended on a firm note. Givaudan drifted down nearly 1%. Partners Group, Nestle, Swiss Re and Novartis shed 0.3%-0.7%. In economic news, a report from Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) showed Switzerland's KOF Economic Barometer came in at 98.0 in May, slightly up from a revised 97.8 and matching market expectations.

Europa
European markets closed mixed on Friday, struggling to find support past mid-afternoon. The mood remained cautious with investors assessing the prospects of a U.S.-Iran peace deal after the two nations agreed in principle to extend the ceasefire by sixty days. Investors also digested a slew of regional economic data. The pan European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.14%. Germany's DAX ended 0.05% up, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 settled lower by 0.16% and 0.07%, respectively. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Sweden ended higher. Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Türkiye closed weak. In the UK market, Endeavour Mining climbed 4.2%, AutoTrader Group moved up 3.4% and Airtel Africa gained nearly 2.5%, while Convatec Group, DCC, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Diploma and Natwest Group ended up by 1.5%-2%. SSE, Diageo, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Sainsbury (J), Intercontinental Hotels Group and National Grid lost 2%-3.1%. In the German market, Scout24 climbed 3.7%. SAP, Zalando and Heidelberg Materials gained 2%-2.5%. Gea Group, Infineon, Brenntag, E.ON, Commerzbank and Merck also ended notably higher. Beiersdorf and Bayer drifted down by about 3.5%. Symrise, Siemens Energy, Deutsche Bank, BMW, Fresenius, Vonovia, Hannover RE, Mercedes-Benz and Munich RE also ended notably lower. In the French market, Teleperformance climbed 5%. Societe Generale, Kering, Michelin, Credit Agricole, Publicis Groupe, BNP Paribas, Airbus, Eurofins Scientific, Schneider Electric, Bureau Veritas and Safran gained 0.8%-1.8%. STMicroelectronics, Air Liquide, Stellantis, LVMH, Pernod Ricard, Danone, Sanofi and L'Oreal shed 1%-2.5%.

Stati Uniti
Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day mostly higher. The Dow led the way higher, although all three major averages ended the day at new record closing highs. The Dow climbed 363.49 points or 0.7 percent to 51,032.46, while the Nasdaq increased 55.15 points or 0.2 percent to 26,972.62 and the S&P 500 rose 16.43 points or 0.2 percent to 7,580.06. For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.9 percent. The higher close on Wall Street came as traders generally remain optimistic about a U.S.-Iran deal but seemed to be waiting for more concrete developments before making more significant moves. Recent reports have suggested the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a framework for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire. The agreement would purportedly facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and enable fresh negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, although President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on the deal. Positive sentiment may have been generated in reaction a sharp increase by shares of Dell Technologies (DELL), with the computer maker skyrocketing by more than 33.7 percent. The rally by Dell came after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results and raised its full-year guidance. With Dell helping lead the way higher, computer hardware stocks skyrocketed on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 8.6 percent to a new record closing high. NetApp (NTAP) also posted a standout gain, with the data infrastructure company soaring by 22.4 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.

Asia
There is no clear trend on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia. In many places, sentiment is being weighed down by the unresolved conflict in the Middle East. Oil prices are rising again in response to the latest advance by Israeli forces in Lebanon. The price of a barrel of Brent crude is up by around 2.5 per cent to just over $93, but remains well below the highs reached during the conflict.

Obbligazioni
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries turned in a relatively lackluster performance being closed 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 4.453 percent.

Analisi
Jefferies raises STMicro target to EUR 74 (52) – Buy
Berenberg raises BT Group target to GBp 3.00 (2.50) – Buy
Bank of America raises Banca Monte dei Paschi target to EUR 11.70 (11.50) – Buy

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