The shares of biotech company Bioversys got off to a slow start on Friday, their first day of trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange. After opening at 36.50 Swiss francs, the shares rose to as much as 37 Swiss francs, but then closed at 35.15 Swiss francs, well below the issue price of 36 Swiss francs. Bioversys had offered just under 2.1 million shares in the company as part of the bookbuilding process. There is also an overallotment option of just under 139,000 shares. On the first day of trading, the free float is expected to be up to 28 per cent, Bioversys had previously announced. A total of more than 151,000 shares were traded. According to earlier statements, the biotech company is targeting proceeds of up to CHF 80 million from the IPO, which will primarily be used to finance pipeline projects. Existing shareholders had already committed to subscribing shares in advance. The Glaxo Group had invested CHF 3.5 million in the offering, it was reported. The AMR Action Fund had also bought shares. Bioversys intends to invest a large part of the expected proceeds in the development of its main product BV100. The Basel-based company specialises in the treatment of life-threatening infectious diseases. It concentrates on antibiotics. BV100 is reportedly used to treat hospital-acquired infections with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB).

The Swiss stock market performed well in the European context on Friday. With a minus of 0.2 per cent to 12,593 points, the SMI held up better than most of its European counterparts. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 10 losers and 9 gainers, with one stock closing unchanged. A total of 19.56 million shares were traded (Thursday: 18.51 million). As is so often the case, the defensive heavyweights provided stabilisation. Nestlé ended the day unchanged and Roche up 0.5 per cent, while Novartis fell by 0.9 per cent. The top performer with a 2.3 per cent rise was Swisscom, another stock that is rather insensitive to the economy. Heavyweight UBS was also among the top performers with a gain of 0.9 per cent. The share thus continued its recovery after coming under heavy pressure earlier in the week following the presentation of financial figures, having raised doubts about the feasibility of planned share buybacks. Holcim shares, which had been very firm the previous day, rose by a further 1.2 per cent. ABB climbed 0.2 per cent, supported by the launch of a new share buyback programme worth USD 1.5 billion.

Europe
The European stock markets lost ground on Friday as investors gave a cool reception to the monthly US employment report and continued to worry about Donald Trump's plans for tariffs. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.4% to 542.8 points. In Paris, CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.4% each. The DAX 40 declined by 0.5% in Frankfurt and the FTSE 100 gave up 0.3% in London.The negative news from car manufacturers continued, with Porsche AG issuing a profit warning. Porsche AG fell by 7.2 per cent, VW by 2.3 per cent and Porsche SE by 2 per cent. The European car index lost 1.6 per cent. Gerresheimer (+9.5%) shot up after a Bloomberg report, then in the afternoon the company confirmed talks with private equity investors about a possible takeover of the packaging manufacturer. Bloomberg named the private equity investors as Warburg, EQT and KKR. According to RBC, L'Oreal's results were mixed. The share price dropped by 3.5 per cent. Vinci's strong business figures (+2.4%) could further strengthen interest in construction stocks. Net profit and dividends exceeded expectations, and cash flow even beat this significantly.

United States
Stocks fell on Friday after a mixed jobs report showed the economy added 143,000 roles in January, slightly lower than forecast. The Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.4%, leading to the session’s declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 444.23 points, or 1%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.9%. Adding to stock investors’ nerves, President Trump said Friday afternoon at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that the U.S. will announce reciprocal tariffs on unspecified countries next week. Analysts have warned that tariffs could push inflation higher, and in turn keep long-awaited rate cuts on the backburner for longer. Fresh data Friday also showed that Americans have soured in recent weeks on the U.S. economy. Consumer sentiment in the University of Michigan’s preliminary February survey fell to its lowest reading since July 2024. Inflation expectations for the year ahead rose to their highest level since November 2023. All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower for the week, capping off a wild streak of sessions that whipsawed on trade uncertainty and big tech earnings. The jobs report took center stage in early trading Friday. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly eased to 4%, wage growth was strong, and additions over the previous two months’ jobs reports were revised up by 100,000. The monthly update is closely watched, as the health of the labor market is a key consideration for the Federal Reserve in setting interest rates. Earlier in the week, markets began seesawing after Trump announced aggressive tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada over the weekend. Trading calmed somewhat after the U.S. reached deals with Mexico and Canada on Monday to delay tariffs. But U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports went into effect this week, inciting retaliatory action from Beijing and escalating a new trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Amazon shares fell Friday after the e-retailer gave lower-than-expected guidance and-like Microsoft, Google and Meta Platforms-doubled down on plans for huge AI-related capital spending. Shares of other big tech companies slumped this week. Shares of Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet all fell. Nvidia rallied 8.1%, recovering some of its steep losses last week from the emergence of Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek. Meta shares gained on Friday, their 15th consecutive session moving higher.

Asia
Asian indexes diverged for the Monday trading session. Only Hong Kong is experiencing higher volatility, with the HSI rising by 1.7 per cent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index is up 0.2 per cent at 38,883 points, while in Shanghai the Composite index advances 0.4 per cent. The Kospi in Seoul is treading water. Chinese telecoms stocks increased after telecom operators integrated Deepseek into their services. China Mobile gained 1.9 per cent, China Unicom 2.1 per cent and China Telecom 4.1 per cent.

Bonds
Yields on long-dated U.S. government debt jumped from some of their lowest levels of the year after Friday’s nonfarm-payrolls report included revisions for prior months that appeared to show the labor market remains in solid shape. The 10-year Treasury note yield advanced by 5 basis points to 4.5%. The 2-year Treasury note yield increased by 8 basis points to 4.3%.

Analysis
Vontobel upgrades Novartis target to CHF 118 (112) - Buy
DZ Bank lowers ABB to CHF 58 (59) - Buy
Vontobel lifts UBS target to CHF 34 (32) - Buy

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