Assicurazioni Generali reported better-than-expected profit for the first nine months of the year on higher gross written premiums and net inflows from its life insurance division. The Italian insurer said Friday that its net profit for the period ended Sept. 30 rose to 2.96 billion euros from 2.82 billion euros a year earlier. Operating profit - a metric closely watched by analysts and investors - increased 7.9% to 5.40 billion euros, it said. Gross written premiums jumped 18% to 70.72 billion euros. Generali was expected to post a net profit of 2.80 billion euros, operating profit of 5.15 billion euros and gross written premiums of 70.26 billion euros, according to a company-compiled consensus. Its solvency ratio - a measure of capital strength - stood at 209%, while consensus had penciled in a 210% ratio. The group - which makes most of its profit from Italy, France, Germany and Central and Eastern Europe - is set to lay out its next three-year strategy at an investor day in late January.

After languishing in negative territory till noon, Swiss stocks moved higher on Thursday and ended the session on a firm note, in line with markets across Europe. The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 11,652.40 in early trades, closed up 79.84 points or 0.68% at 11,783.65. The index touched a high of 11,801.07. Straumann Holding climbed about 3.3%. Logitech International and Kuehne + Nagel gained 2.97% and 2.63%, respectively. Swatch Group, Richemont and Partners Group ended higher by 2.3 to 2.5%. SIG Group and VAT Group ended up 1.84% and 1.8%, respectively. Geberit, Nestle, Zurich Insurance Group and ABB advanced 1 to 1.35%. Julius Baer, Novartis, Adecco, UBS Group, Swisscom and Schindler Ps also closed on a firm note. Swiss Re gained about 0.5%. The insurer recorded a year-over-year drop in third-quarter group net income to $102 million from $1.02 billion, with revenue also declining over the period. The group expects net income for full-year 2024 to exceed $3 billion, assuming normal loss activity for the remainder of the year. Shares of pharmaceutical company Curatis climbed nearly 10% after the company announced its intention to apply for a biologic license for its C-PTBE-01 drug (for treating diffuse midline glioma, an aggressive brain tumor) in the US. Its regulatory pathway review concluded that the treatment qualifies for the application. Sandoz Group closed down 1.4%. Alcon ended lower by 1.01% and Holcim closed with a loss of 0.76%. Roche Holding, Swiss Life Holding and Lindt Ps also ended weak.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, as investors assessed the most recent global economic data, including U.S. inflation and euro area GDP reports, and reacted to a slew of quarterly earnings and other corporate news. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.08%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.51%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 moved up 1.37% and 1.32%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI closed up 0.68%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Iceland edged up marginally, while Denmark, Greece and Russia ended weak. In the UK market, Burberry Group shares zoomed nearly 10% after new CEO of the fashion brand, Joshua Schulman, pledged to 'stabilize the business' with a turnaround plan. Aviva gained more than 4% after a strong Q3 update, showing continued growth across various business lines. B&M European Value Retail, Spirax Group, Schrodders, Aviva, Severn Trent, 3i Group, Prudential, United Utilities and Informa gained 3 to 5%. Centrica, BP, RightMove, BT Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, WPP, Segro, Barratt Redrow, Land Securities, Unite Group and Haleon climbed 1.5 to 2.75%. Convatec Group dropped 3.51%. Experian, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings and BAE Systems lost 2 to 3%. ICG, Next, Endeavour Mining, Sainsbury (J), Weir Group and Coca-Cola also ended notably lower. In the German market, Infineon climbed 4.7%. Siemens gained nearly 5% after Q4 earnings topped expectations. Deutsche Telekom rallied 3.5% after the telecoms group beat third-quarter profit expectations and raised its full-year core profit guidance.

United States
After showing a lack of direction for much of the session, stocks came under pressure in the latter part of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages slid more firmly into negative territory after spending most of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow slid 207.33 points or 0.5 percent to 43,750.86, the Nasdaq fell 123.07 points or 0.6 percent to 19,107.65 and the S&P 500 declined 36.21 points or 0.6 percent to 5,949.17. The weakness that emerged on Wall Street late in the session came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank does not 'need to be in a hurry to lower rates' due to the strength of the economy. Biotechnology stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.8 percent. Significant weakness also emerged among healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index and the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index falling by 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Networking, steel and commercial real estate stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while considerable strength remained visible among airline stocks. Reflecting the strength in the airline sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumped by 1.8 percent after plummeting by 7.3 percent on Wednesday.

Asia
The majority of stock markets in East Asia and Australia posted gains on Friday. The economic data published in China shows a mixed picture, indicating that the stimulus measures introduced by Beijing to date are probably not yet having sufficient effect. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, industrial production grew by 5.3 per cent year-on-year in October, compared to 5.4 per cent in September.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries regained ground after turning lower over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.3 basis points to 4.418 percent.

Analysis
Citi raises Allianz target to EUR 286 (283) / Neutral – Trader
UBS raises Alstom target to EUR 20 (19) – Neutral
Barclays raises Siemens Energy target to EUR 35 (21) – Equalweight

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