Nestlé said it dismissed Chief Executive Laurent Freixe with immediate effect following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate that breached the group’s code of conduct. The Swiss maker of Nescafé coffee and Purina pet food said Monday that its board had ordered the probe overseen by Chairman Paul Bulcke and lead independent director Pablo Isla, with the support of independent outside counsel. Nestlé didn’t identify the employee in the relationship with Freixe. No one from the executive board had such a relationship with him, said a person familiar with the situation. Freixe didn’t respond to a request for comment. His dismissal is the latest dramatic shift in the top echelons of Nestlé in a little more than a year. In 2024, Nestlé appointed Freixe to replace CEO Mark Schneider in a bid to revive growth as the company grappled with sluggish sales. Now, Nestlé said, Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé Nespresso, would succeed Freixe in the top job. Nestlé’s board had considered Navratil to be a potential successor to Freixe and decided to elevate him following the probe into the alleged misconduct, a person familiar with the matter said. On Monday, some analysts came out and criticized the company for choosing to stay the course and elevating a company insider in the face of the continued underperformance.

On Monday, the SMI lost 0.1 percent to 12,177 points. Within the 21 SMI values, eleven price winners and ten losers were to match. 12.06 (previously: 17.03) million shares were traded. Pharmaceutical stocks were mostly sought after, with the heavyweights Novartis (+0.4%) and Roche (barely changed) supported by positive drug studies. Alcon and Lonza gained 0.6 and 0.7 percent. On the other hand, the shares of insurers were avoided - in line with the other European stock exchanges. Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich declined by up to 1.7 percent without any news. Among small caps, Implenia did not benefit from new building construction contracts from Germany. The stocks recorded a decline of 0.9 percent.

Europe
European stock markets increased on Monday thanks to encouraging indicators in China and the euro zone, and while Wall Street was closed in observance of Labor Day. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2%, to 551.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.1% while the SBF 120 stagnated. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 increased by 0.6% on Monday, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. RENAULT (+1.3%): the car manufacturer announced on Monday several appointments and organisational adjustments, in the wake of François Provost taking office as CEO on July 31. STELLANTIS sales (+0.7%) increased by 1.7% year-on-year in August, while those of the RENAULT group edged 2.3% higher. The sales of the VOLKSWAGEN group (-0.1% in Frankfurt) decreased by 8% over the period. CAPGEMINI (-0.9%): the shareholders of the Indian digital transformation specialist WNS have approved its acquisition by Capgemini, the French digital services group confirmed on Monday. On July 7, Capgemini had revealed that it had signed a final agreement on the acquisition of WNS, for an amount before debt of $3.3 billion, representing about €2.8 billion.

United States
U.S. financial markets were closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. U.S. stock-market futures were flat Monday while gold futures hit a new all-time high, amid uncertainty around the Fed’s independence and the Trump administration’s tariffs, as well as rising optimism about potential interest-rate cuts. The continuous contract for gold futures GC00 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to a record high of $3,578.40 an ounce late Monday. Gold was most recently trading up 1.4%, around $3,566. The precious metal has seen its price soar about 35% year to date. The continuous contract for silver SI00 surged to its highest point this year, at $41.995. Silver was most recently trading at $41.740, up 2.5% and 42% higher on the year. After an up-and-down start to the session, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00 were recently down 46 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures ES00 and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00 were also down about 0.1%. Bitcoin BTCUSD bounced back to regain the $109,000 level, while crude oil, as reflected by West Texas Intermediate front-month prices CL.1, gained 1.5%. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six foreign rivals, was up slightly. Gold and silver are seen as safe-haven assets, and their appeal has gained amid fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve may lose its independence, weakening the dollar. President Donald Trump has, for months, pressured Fed Chair Jerome Powell to slash interest rates, and his recent attempt to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook is seen by many as an attempt to impose control over the central bank. The legality of Trump’s firing of Cook is still in dispute; a judge made no immediate ruling after a Friday hearing, and the case could eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The legality of Trump’s global tariffs is also in doubt. A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court’s ruling that they were illegal, but the tariffs will remain in place at least until Oct. 14 to allow the Supreme Court to review the case. Meanwhile, Wall Street is optimistic that the Fed will cut rates at its next meeting later this month. Lower borrowing costs can make gold a more appealing investment as opposed to interest-bearing investments, such as government bonds. Investors will be keeping a keen eye on jobs data later this week: July numbers on job openings on Wednesday, ADP employment data and initial jobless claims on Thursday and the government’s monthly jobless report on Friday.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday. The HSI in Hong Kong loses 0.6 percent, in Shanghai the index sheds 0.8 percent. On the other hand, the stock market in Tokyo recovers slightly, after the strong setback on Monday, the Nikkei now rises by 0.3 percent. Some support comes from the yen, which is noticeably declining. The deputy governor of the Bank of Japan has confirmed further interest rate hikes, yet has associated them with various restrictions. The Kospi (+0.9%) also gains ground, while in Sydney the market is more or less at a standstill. The uncertainty is also evident in the price of gold. The troy ounce was traded above $3,500 for the first time, the new record high is $3,508. On the Chinese stock exchanges, semiconductor securities suffer from taxes. For example, SMIC in Hong Kong slumped by 6.4 percent. Following financial results, Great Wall Motor gained 1 percent, sales growth accelerated significantly in August. The technology stock Meituan loses over 3 percent. The analysts of Nomura had lowered the price target.

Bonds
U.S. financial markets were closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. The Swiss bond market weakened slightly at the start of the week and the month. The swap rates have risen marginally, which in turn burdens the prices. In the meantime, sales on the secondary market were within the usual framework, while the primary market was once again quite active. Three companies have issued debt and more will follow in the coming days. The Swiss Bond Index (SBI) gave up intraday 12 BP to 138.57 points. The yield of the two-year benchmark Swiss was quoted at -0.129% in the course of trading, the ten-year-old yielded +0.278%.

Analysis
Vontobel lifts Ypsomed to 485 (450) CHF - Buy
DZ Bank lowers Givaudan target to 3,650 (3,800) CHF - Hold
Baader downgrades Alcon to 70.80 (77.70) CHF - Add