BASF expects earnings to increase slightly this year due to cost savings that will offset continued investment in a big petrochemical site in China and a tough economic environment. The German chemical giant is seeking to slash costs and shed noncore assets to counter subdued demand in China and Europe. The company plans to approach the market to explore options for its remaining coatings activities by June after it sold its Brazilian paints business to Sherwin-Williams earlier this month. It aims to have its agricultural unit ready for an initial public offering in 2027, but Chief Financial Officer Dirk Elvermann said in a media call that the company hasn’t yet decided on the size of the IPO, pending market conditions and anticipated high market interest. BASF expects its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and special items - its preferred key metric - to grow to between 8.0 billion and 8.4 billion euros ($8.32 billion-$8.73 billion) this year from 7.86 billion euros in 2024. This assumes a moderate increase in demand with all segments contributing to earnings growth except its chemicals business, the company said.

After a weak start and a subsequent recovery, the Swiss market struggled for direction till midafternoon on Friday, but gained in strength thanks to some brisk buying at several counters in last ninety minutes of the day's session. Worries about fresh tariffs by the U.S. and their likely impact on growth rendered the mood a bit cautious. The benchmark SMI closed up 46.14 points or 0.36% at 13,004.48, after scaling a low of 12,884.27 and a high of 13,020.65. Holcim climbed about 3%. UBS Group gained 2.7%. Swatch Group, Lindt & Spruengli and Givaudan ended higher by 1.2 to 1.4%. Richemont, Swisscom, Sika, Julius Baer, Zurich Insurance Group, Alcon, Partners Group and Kuehne + Nagel posted modest gains. Logitech International tumbled 4.7%. VAT Group, ABB, SGS, SIG Group and Sonova closed lower by 1 to 1.5%. Clariant dropped by about 5.5% following a decline in sales in 2024. The company said it expects local currency sales growth for 2025 to be at the lower end of its 3% to 5% forecast range amid a challenging economic environment. Geberit, Swiss Re, Adecco, Straumann Holding and Sandoz Group also closed weak. Data from the Federal Statistical Office said retail sales in Switzerland increased 1.3% year-on-year in January 2025 from a downwardly revised 2.5% rise in the previous month. This marked the weakest growth in retail trade activity since last June when the retail sales fell 3%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade edged down 0.1% in January, reversing a downwardly revised 0.5% rise in the preceding month.

Europe
European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as investors amid uncertainty about the outlook for growth as the Trump Administration's fresh and stringent tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% levy on Chinese imports are set to commence from next week. Investors digested a slew of earnings and economic data from the region, and the personal consumption expenditure report from Europe. The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.01%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.61%, and France's CAC 40 crept up 0.11%. Germany's DAX came off early lows and settled flat, while Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.36%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Spain ended higher. In the UK market, Weir Group climbed 6.3% on impressive results. The company posted statutory profit before tax of 347 million pounds in fiscal 2024, up 8% from last year's 321 million pounds. IAG ended up more than 4%. The airline holding company reported a 38% jump in fourth-quarter profit to 608 million euros, from last year's 441 million euros.

United States
Following the significant pullback seen over the course of the previous session, stocks saw substantial volatility during trading on Friday. The major averages swung wildly back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing sharply higher. The major averages showed strong moves to the upside going into the close, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq surged 302.86 points or 1.6 percent to 18,847.28, the S&P 500 shot up 92.93 points or 1.6 percent to 5,954.50 and the Dow jumped 601.41 points or 1.4 percent to 43,840.91. Despite the late-day rally, Nasdaq plunged by 3.5 percent for the week and the S&P 500 slumped by the 1.0 percent. The narrower Dow, on the other hand, posted a 1.0 percent weekly gain. Stocks moved mostly higher early in the session as traders looked look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, which saw the Nasdaq tumble to a nearly four-month closing low in Thursday's session. The Dow and the S&P 500 also ended the previous session at their lowest closing levels in over a month amid a slump by shares of Nvidia (NVDA). Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing closely watched readings on U.S. consumer price inflation increased in line with economist estimates in the month of January. However, the major averages pulled back well off their best levels and into negative territory in mid-day trading, as a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.

Asia
After some heavy losses on Friday, the indices on the stock exchanges in East Asia rose on Monday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 recovered by 1.6 per cent to 37,761 points, while Hong Kong rose by 1.2 per cent. Shanghai lagged somewhat behind with a gain of 0.3 per cent. Sydney has already ended trading with a rise of around 1 per cent, while there was no trading in Seoul due to a public holiday.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved back to the upside following the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 5.4 basis points to a new two-month closing low of 4.231 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Baloise to CHF 180 (175) – Neutral
Bank of America lowers Logitech to Underperform (Neutral)/80 (91) CHF – Trader
JP Morgan raises Kion to EUR 43 (42) – Overweight

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