Micron MU Technology, which has seen its value triple this year, said revenue quadrupled in the second quarter and forecast that rapid growth will continue due to near-insatiable demand for its memory chips. Shares surged by as much as 15% in after-hours trading after the company beat Wall Street expectations in virtually every financial metric watched closely by investors, including sales, earnings per share and adjusted gross margin. The company also raised its forecast. Micron on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit of $28.24 billion, or $24.67 a share, compared with a profit of $1.89 billion, or $1.68 a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, Micron reported adjusted earnings of $25.11 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $20.86 a share. Revenue surged to $41.46 billion, up from $9.3 billion a year prior and beating analyst expectations of $35.91 billion. For the current fourth quarter, the company is projecting adjusted earnings between $30 and $32 a share on revenue between $49 billion and $51 billion. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of $25.72 a share on $43.58 billion in revenue.

The Swiss stock market closed significantly higher on Wednesday. The SMI gained 1.5 percent to 14,118 points. During the session, the benchmark index reached its highest level to date at 14,142 points. Once again, defensive heavyweights were the ones driving the market higher. The two pharmaceutical stocks, Novartis and Roche, advanced by 0.8 and 2.1 percent, respectively. Nestlé shares soared 3.3 percent. Another defensive stock, that of fragrance and flavor manufacturer Givaudan, jumped 4.4 percent. The share price of logistics group Kühne + Nagel climbed 3.5 percent. Both UBS and Goldman Sachs had raised their price targets for Kühne + Nagel; Goldman reaffirmed its “Buy” rating, while UBS maintained its “Neutral” rating. Following a price target increase by Jefferies, Richemont shares added 4 percent. Cyclical stocks showed a mixed performance. While Amrize, Geberit, and Sika increased by up to 3.2 percent, ABB (+0.6%) and Holcim (-1.6%) lagged behind the market. Although analysts at Jefferies had slightly upgraded their price target for Holcim, they currently do not see much upside potential for the stock and therefore maintained their “Hold” recommendation.

Europa
European stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1% to 635.16 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 gained 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 fell 0.6%, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% in London. OIL SECTOR: Oil-related companies struggled amid dropping oil prices. TotalEnergies shed 1.8%, while Viridien and Maurel & Prom surrendered 3.2% and 5.3%, respectively. DASSAULT AVIATION (-0.5%): The aircraft manufacturer welcomed on Wednesday the reversal of the decision to exclude business jet manufacturing from the European green taxonomy. In response, the aircraft manufacturer’s stock limited its losses at the close of trading on the Paris Stock Exchange. RHEINMETALL (-18.9% in Frankfurt): Investors reacted sharply to press reports that Germany was abandoning its plan to build a new model of warship.

Stati Uniti
U.S. stocks finished mixed as investors cashing out bets on high-flying technology and artificial intelligence companies continued to rotate into beaten-down sectors of the market Wednesday, with marked gains for travel companies and home builders. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.06 points, or 0.35%, to 51848.90. The S&P 500 lost 7.24 points, or 0.1%, to 7358.22, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 110.40 points, or 0.43%, to 25476.64. Oil closed down 3.9% at $70.34 a barrel. Reports of increased tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz offset a 6.1 million-barrel drop in U.S. commercial inventories. Online travel agency Booking.com rose $12.33, or 7.3%, to $181.28. The PHLX "SOX" Semiconductor Sector Index, which has become a barometer of investor sentiment on AI, fell 24.31, or 0.18%, to 13458.19, following a 7.9% drop Tuesday. Qualcomm agreed to acquire the AI software company Modular for about $3.9 billion, in a bid to make AI faster and cheaper for its customers. South Korea's SK Hynix plans to raise more than $29 billion through a U.S. listing, one of the largest ever share sales that's designed to fund its AI expansion. The rotation out of tech was also evident in financial stocks Wednesday. Blue Owl, Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Ares Management all fell by 4.9% or more. The concentration of private credit in the technology sector during a period of upheaval there has prompted waves of redemption requests in the niche. Investors asked to redeem about 16.8% of their shares from Apollo's flagship retail-focused private-credit fund in the second quarter, according to a Monday filing. In contrast, the State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking exchange-traded fund, a basket of regional banks, tested multiyear highs Wednesday, rising 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $73.97. Bitcoin tested two-year lows around $60,000.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday. A rally in technology and semiconductor stocks is lifting Japan’s Nikkei 225 by 4.2 percent to 72,073 points. In South Korea, the tech-heavy Kospi gained 5.8 percent, continuing its recovery from Tuesday’s plunge. In China, however, the HSI in Hong Kong gave up 1.4 percent, with tech stocks failing to follow the lead of their counterparts on other exchanges. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4 percent.

Obbligazioni
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined 0.094 percentage point to 4.400%.

Analisi
Lonza price target: Goldman Sachs lowers to CHF 665 (670) - Buy
Holcim price target: Jefferies upgrades to CHF 78.40 (77) - Hold
Kühne+Nagel price target: Goldman Sachs upgrades to CHF 230 (220) - Buy

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