Ascom posted a weaker performance in 2024. The Zug-based specialist in hospital communications solutions saw its net profit plummet to CHF 3.7 million, compared with CHF 17.4 million a year earlier, as a result of lower sales and orders received. A dividend cut from 20 centimes to 10 centimes per share is proposed. In the year under review, which was marked by market conditions deemed to be demanding, net revenues fell by 3.6% to CHF 286.7 million, the Baar-based group of Bernese origins reported on Wednesday. At constant exchange rates, the decline was limited to 1.6%. Corresponding to the level presented in 2023, sales in the second half of the year were unable to compensate for the 2.7% fall in the first half. New orders fell by 3.5% (1.5% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 307.4 million. At the end of 2024, the order book stood at 301.5 million, compared with 276.4 million a year earlier. Reflecting the rise in investment, gross operating profit (Ebitda) also contracted, from CHF 30.1 million to CHF 21.3 million. The corresponding margin fell sharply from 10.1% to 7.4%. On the basis of a financial situation deemed to be solid, the supervisory board also intends to submit to its owners a share buyback program of up to 10% of the share capital and CHF 15 million. The operation is due to be launched in May.

The SMI shed 2.5 per cent to 12,692 points on Tuesday. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 18 losers and 2 winners. A total of 26.53 million shares were traded (Monday: 28.41 million). The biggest loser was Novartis, one of the heavyweights. The share price fell by 5.6 per cent. Although Novartis was traded ex-dividend, the share price declined by 5.68 francs, while the dividend was only 3.50 francs. Roche (-3.5 per cent) and Nestlé (-2.1 per cent) were other heavyweights among the worst performers, having gained on Monday despite the weak stock markets in Europe. Kühne + Nagel (-3.5%) wiped out almost all of its gains from the previous day. ABB was the winner of the day with a gain of 1.3 per cent. The technology group had announced a minority stake in the US company DG Matrix, a manufacturer of power electronics. Partners Group lost 1.7 per cent and landed in the midfield of the SMI shares. According to analysts at Vontobel, the financial company performed better than expected in 2024. Higher performance-related fees offset lower-than-forecast management fees. Among smaller caps, Galenica posted a gain of 0.9 per cent. The healthcare group once again outperformed the pharmaceutical market in 2024 and aims to do so again this year.

Europe
The European stock markets closed sharply lower again on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump stepped up his tariff campaign against Canada and investors became concerned about the health of the US economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 1.7% to 536.9 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 1.3% each, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt. The FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% in London. AIRLINE SECTOR: shares in European airlines went through an air pocket on Tuesday, penalized by the warning issued on Monday by Delta Air Lines concerning its results for the first quarter of 2025. Air France-KLM fell by 9.3% in Paris, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways, lost 6.1% in London and Deutsche Lufthansa slipped by 5.3% in Frankfurt. RENAULT (+1.1%): Japanese carmaker Nissan - in which Renault is a shareholder - announced on Tuesday the appointment of Ivan Espinosa as CEO with effect from 1 April, replacing Makoto Uchida. A Mexican national, Ivan Espinosa is currently Nissan's Director of Strategic Planning.

United States
Global trade tensions fueled a wild day on Wall Street, with major indexes finishing a choppy session lower even after signs of a thaw in talks between the U.S. and Canada. President Trump’s move to ratchet up tariffs on aluminum and steel from Canada triggered a new round of losses early in the session, sending all three major indexes lower. Stocks regained some ground after reports that Ontario would ax a surcharge on electricity delivered to the U.S. and Trump said he would “probably” cut back the increased tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, or around 478 points, to 41433. The S&P 500 lost 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.2%. All three indexes notched their worst two-day drop since August. The moves came after fears that tariffs and government spending cuts will fuel a recession sparked a selloff Monday, with sliding tech shares driving Nasdaq to its biggest one-day fall since 2022. The S&P 500 is down 5.3% year-to-date. Wall Street had hoped that tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks could spur another year of stock-market gains, but uncertainty around trade policy and around U.S. tech companies’ competitiveness in artificial intelligence have left the U.S. shares trailing global stocks in recent weeks. There was one sign of economic health on Tuesday: new Labor Department data showed the U.S. had 7.74 million job openings in January, up from 7.51 million in December and slightly above consensus expectations for 7.6 million openings. Big tech stocks started to recover some of their losses throughout the day, gaining after the Trump administration said it would resume military support to Ukraine. Tesla shares rose 3.8%, after the EV maker shed 15% of its market value Monday. Broadcom also climbed 3.1%, while other tech stocks like Intel fell. Airline stocks were volatile after Delta, American, JetBlue and Southwest cut their forecasts amid concerns about travel demand, but Southwest unveiled moves to boost revenue, lifting its stock 8.3%. Other S&P 500 leaders included CrowdStrike Holdings, GE Vernova and Super Micro Computer. Verizon shares dropped more than 6% and were the weakest performer of the Dow industrials Tuesday, after a company executive flagged heightened industry competition at an investor conference. Teradyne was the worst performer on the S&P 500, followed by Expedia and Delta. The CBOE Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” because it tracks the cost of options used to protect against stock-market downturns, hovered around 27 after spending most of 2025 under 20. Bitcoin traded above $83,000, having slipped below $80,000 Monday.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday. While the Kospi in Korea recovered significantly by 1.4 per cent and the Nikkei also performed slightly better, prices on the Chinese stock exchanges crumbled. The markets in Australia and New Zealand are weak. The Indian stock market, also one of the worst performers in the stock market year to date, is now betting on a cut in key interest rates in April. Nevertheless, the Sensex dropped by a further 0.2 per cent on Wednesday. Concerns about the trade disputes between the US and its trading partners are said to be the underlying reason. Technology stocks led the declines. Infosys lost 4.1 per cent and HCL Technologies 3.0 per cent.

Bonds
U.S. Bond yields were mixed Tuesday as investors monitored the tariff front, awaited a key inflation report out Wednesday and stayed on guard about the prospect of a U.S. economic slowdown. The 10-year Treasury note yield recovered 7 basis points (0.07 percentage point) to 4.29%. The 2-year Treasury note yield edged up 6 basis points to 3.96%.

Analysis
Berenberg downgrades Galderma target to CHF 115.40 (118) - Buy
RBC lifts Bachem target to CHF 78 (71) - Outperform
UBS upgrades Lindt & Sprüngli target to CHF 129,000 (126,000) - Buy

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