Nike has agreed to a collaboration with the SKIMS clothing brand. As the US sporting goods manufacturer announced, a new brand called “NikeSKIMS” is to be launched as part of this partnership. SKIMS was co-founded by Kim Kardashian, who serves as the brand's Chief Creative Officer. Nike shares rose by over 6 percent. The long-term partnership is intended to produce a comprehensive product line, initially for the US market. The first products will be available online and in selected stores in the spring. NikeSKIMS is to be rolled out globally in 2026. The range will include clothing, shoes and accessories.

After a flat start and a subsequent weak spell that lasted till about a couple of hours past noon on Tuesday, Swiss stocks found some support and finally ended the day's session on a slightly positive note. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 18.90 points or 0.15% at 12,893.98, after moving between 12,825.29 and 12,909.97. ABB climbed 2.01%. Schindler Ps, UBS Group, Swiss Re and Adecco closed higher by 1.1 to 1.4%. Julius Baer, Swisscom, SIG Group, Holcim, Novartis, Kuehne + Nagel, Zurich Insurance Group and VAT Group gained 0.3 to 0.85%. Basilea Pharmaceutica jumped more than 8% on strong earnings. The company said its full-year 2024 net profit surged to 77.6 million francs from 10.5 million francs a year before. Total revenue also soared 32% over the period to 208.5 million francs, boosted by strong in-market sales of its antifungal drug Cresemba. Lonza Group ended down 2.73%. Sandoz Group closed 1.61% down, while Richemont and Givaudan ended lower by 1.34% and 1.19%, respectively. Lindt & Spruengli settled lower by about 0.8%. Provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's industrial production expanded further in the final quarter of 2024, though at a slower pace compared to previous quarters. Industrial production climbed 2.2% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, following a 3.1% growth in the third quarter.

Europe
European stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday and a few markets settled at fresh record highs, as investors reacted to earnings updates, and continued to monitor the developments on the geopolitical front. The markets also digested the data showing a bigger than estimated increase in France's consumer price inflation in the month of January, and data showing UK's unemployment rate remained unchanged in the fourth quarter. Defense stocks attracted buyers once again amid prospects of increased military spending by European governments to support Ukraine. The focus was also on U.S. - Russia talks in Riyadh to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.32%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.2% and 0.21%, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.01%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.15%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Iceland, Netherlands and Russia ended flat. In the UK market, HSBC Holdings gained nearly 2%. GSK, Vodafone Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Natwest Group, Barclays Group, St. James's Place and Standard Chartered climbed 1.2 to 1.7%. Glencore and Melrose Industries posted moderate gains. Antofagasta started off on a bright note, but suffered a mid session setback and finally closed with a modest gain. Antofagasta backed its FY25 outlook after reporting strong 2024 performance with 5% revenue growth and a widened EBITDA margin at 52%. In the German market, Daimler Truck Holding climbed nearly 2%. Commerzbank gained 1.7%, while Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines and Mercedes-Benz advanced 1 to 1.3%.

United States
Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Tuesday, extending the lackluster performance seen during last Friday's session. The major averages moved to the upside going into end the day, however, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record closing high. The major averages all posted modest gains on the day. The S&P 500 rose 14.95 points or 0.2 percent to 6,129.58, the Nasdaq inched up 14.49 points or 0.1 percent to 20,041.26 and the Dow crept up 10.26 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,556.34. The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday. Traders may also have been expressing some uncertainty about the outlook for markets after last week's strong gains lifted Nasdaq and the S&P 500 back within striking distance of their record highs. On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in the month of February. Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 3.7 percent to a record closing high. Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. With the upward move, the index reached its best closing level in over two months. Semiconductor stocks also moved notably higher over the course of the session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing by 1.7 percent to a record closing high.

Asia
No trend can be identified on the stock exchanges in East Asia and Australia at midweek. In many places, renewed tariff threats from US President Donald Trump are weighing on share prices. The South Korean stock exchange is up significantly. The Kospi gained 1.8 per cent. Market participants are talking about opportunistic buying after prices fell sharply when the now deposed President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to introduce martial law, which led to violent protests in the country.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries gave back ground after moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.2 basis points to 4.544 percent.

Analysis
Julius Baer raises Holcim target to CHF 108 (98)/Buy – Trader
Bank of America raises the Euronext target to EUR 135 (125) – Buy
Bank of America raises the Barclays target to 370 (355) GBp – Buy

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