Apple vowed to spend more than $500 billion, in line with the huge AI project dubbed Stargate that SoftBank, Oracle and OpenAI are leading. The iPhone maker’s announcement included expanded spending on chips manufactured in the U.S. by Apple’s partners, and a new 250,000-square-foot factory in Houston. That plant, built with partners, is slated to open in 2026 and produce servers supporting Apple Intelligence, the company’s generative-AI system. Apple’s announcement comes as it and other tech giants are working to strengthen relations with President Trump, who is talking up tariffs and other policies that could have major effects on the industry. Apple didn’t provide a detailed breakdown of its investment and spending initiatives, making it difficult to assess how much of the $500 billion is a continuation of trends already under way and how much comes from new plans. Apple said the total includes its work with thousands of U.S. suppliers as well as its own corporate facilities and Apple TV+ productions. The announcement said Apple plans to hire around 20,000 people over the next four years - suggesting a continuation of its recent pace. Apple’s commitment comes as Silicon Valley has mounted a concerted campaign to cozy up to the new administration. President Trump took credit for the Apple move on his social-media platform Truth Social, writing “Thank you Tim Cook and Apple!!!”

The Swiss stock market ended Monday's trading session virtually unchanged. The SMI closed 5 points higher at 12,953 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 10 losers and 10 winners. A total of 21.02 (previously: 32.83) million shares were traded. Among the individual stocks, ABB fell by 4.7 per cent. There was no news from the company. In a commentary by analysts at RBC, however, the group reported during a conference call with sell-side analysts that Microsoft had paused an order relating to data centres for 30 to 40 days. In addition to ABB, other cyclicals such as Sika (-2.3%), Holcim (-1.3%) and Geberit (-0.5%) were also sold. Partners Group was under pressure with no news, falling by 3.8 per cent. The SMI received support from index heavyweight Nestlé, the share price of which rose by 3.1 per cent.

Europe
The European stock markets closed without any real direction on Monday, following the announcement of the victory of the conservative bloc (CDU-CSU) and the breakthrough of the far-right AfD party in the German parliamentary elections. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.1% to 553.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.6% and the FTSE 100 was unchanged in London. SANOFI (-0.7%): the pharmaceutical group announced on Saturday that it planned to launch a phase 3 clinical trial in the second half of 2025 for duvakitug, a drug developed with the Israeli laboratory Teva for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. SOCIETE GENERALE (stable): the banking group has confirmed the appointment of Lubomira Rochet as deputy managing director, responsible in particular for retail banking in France and private banking, and her inclusion on the executive committee. She will join the group in April. DANONE (+2%): following a mediation process, the food group has reached an agreement with three NGOs to put an end to their legal proceedings concerning plastic, used in packaging, in Danone's vigilance plan.

United States
The Nasdaq Composite dropped on Monday, with some technology stocks stuck in a slump as the artificial-intelligence growth story remains murky. The tech-heavy index finished the day 1.2% lower, dragged down by companies such as Palantir, Constellation Energy and PDD. It was the index’s second consecutive daily decline of more than 1%. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, boosted by a 4.9% jump in Nike stock and modest climbs in the shares of Boeing and Travelers Cos. The S&P 500 finished the last hour trading lower after President Trump said in a press conference that tariffs on Canada and Mexico were set to move forward on schedule next week. The index has lost all of its post-inauguration gains and has lost 0.22% since Trump took office. Right now, the market seems to be rotating out of AI and tech. Nvidia shares fell 3.1% on Monday. Still, analysts see AI-related growth as a strong tailwind for the S&P 500 this year. Bitcoin prices fell below $94,000. Crypto-linked stocks including Coinbase and Robinhood fell. Gold ticked up slightly. The price of the precious metal rose 0.4% to $2,947.90 a troy ounce. Gold is approaching a landmark of $3,000 as it continues to break record after record.

Asia
Stocks in Asia mostly fell on Tuesday. Tokyo, where there was no trading on Monday due to a public holiday, was the most active market. The Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.3 per cent to 38,277 points. In Seoul, the index fell by 0.4 per cent. The fact that the central bank in South Korea has lowered key interest rates should at least provide some support here. In Hong Kong (-0.8%) and Shanghai (-0.2%), the indices are actually less in the red than at the start of trading. Among the individual stocks in Tokyo, Mitsubishi Corp. rose by 8.8 per cent and Itochu by 6.8 per cent. According to investor legend Warren Buffett, his holding company Berkshire Hathaway is likely to increase its stake in the two Japanese trading companies.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields edged lower Monday, amid worries about the outlook for economic growth against a backdrop of sticky inflation. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped 2 basis points (0.02 percentage points) to 4.40%. The 2-year Treasury note yield also lost 2 basis points, to 4.18%.

Analysis
Nestlé price target: Goldman Sachs upgrades to CHF 93 (86) - Buy - Trader
Target price Glencore: Barclays cuts to GBP 4.60 (4.85) - Overweight
Target price Sika: Kepler Cheuvreux reduces to CHF 300 (315) - Buy

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