Google parent Alphabet agreed to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion, in a massive bid to bolster its cloud business that has struggled to keep up with rivals. The all-cash deal would be Google’s largest ever and also the biggest deal struck so far in 2025. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening that the talks between the two companies were advanced and an agreement could be reached soon. Alphabet had been close to a roughly $23 billion deal for Wiz last summer, the Journal previously reported. The talks fell apart, however, as Wiz and some of its investors had concerns about the time it would take for a deal to clear regulatory hurdles, among other issues. Bankers and CEOs came into the year hoping for big deals, but market volatility and Washington turmoil have sapped confidence. Google moving to strike its biggest deal ever, and the biggest deal of the year, would be a test of the Trump administration’s antitrust appetite and a barometer for other tech deals.

The Switzerland market failed to hold early gains and settled just marginally up on Tuesday, due to some brisk selling at a few frontline counters in the final hour of the day's session. The mood remained fairly positive till well past noon as investors awaited a crucial vote on a spending plan in Germany. The bill won the necessary vote and now awaits the final nod from Bundesrat on Friday. The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 13,117.35 around mid morning, ended the day with a gain of 3.99 points or 0.03% at 13,062.11, around 40 points off the session's low of 13,022.32. Julius Baer gained 1.85% after the lender announced that it has secured regulatory approvals to open a dedicated branch in Milan, Italy, marking its entry into the Italian onshore market. Adecco climbed 3.28%, while Logitech International, Kuehne + Nagel, UBS Group, Straumann Holding, Alcon and Lonza Group closed higher by 0.7 to 0.9%. ABB, Sandoz Group, VAT Group, Swiss Re, Schindler Ps, Swiss Life Holding and Nestle posted modest gains. SGS, Sika, SIG Group, Roche Holding, Swisscom and Geberit lost 0.4 to 0.9%. Investors also looked ahead to the monetary policy meeting of the Swiss National Bank later in the week.

Europe
European stocks closed on a firm note on Tuesday, after Germany's Bundestag approved a crucial fiscal package, with 513 votes going in favor of the bill, and 207 votes disapproving the bill. The passage of the bill enables Germany's debt brake to permit increased spending on defense and creation of a 500 billion euros infrastructure and climate fund. The package, which is backed by the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens, now await Budersat approval later in the week. Data showing a sharp improvement in Germany's investor confidence contributed as well to the positive mood in European markets. The meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was also in focus. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.61%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.29% up, Germany's DAX advanced 0.98% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.5% up. Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.03%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain closed higher. Turkiye ended weak, while Netherlands and Sweden closed flat. Automobile, bank, mining and energy stocks were among the major gainers in the session. In the UK market, JD Sports Fashion rallied more than 4.5%. Standard Chartered, Natwest Group, Marks & Spencer, Airtel Africa, Barclays Group, IMI, Antofagasta, Next, St. James's Place and Endeavour Mining gained 2 to 4%. Fresnillo, HSBC Holdings, Sainsbury (J), IAG, Melrose Industries, BT Group, Taylor Wimpey, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and BP also closed notably higher. Games Workshop ended down nearly 3%. The Sage Group, Halma, Unilever, RightMove, Imperial Brands, Relx, Mondi, Auto Trader Group, Polar Capital Technology, IHG and Scottish Mortgage also closed notably lower.

United States
Stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday, giving back ground following the significant rebound seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the pullback. The major averages ended the day off their worst levels but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq tumbled 304.55 points or 1.7 percent to 17,504.12, the S&P 500 slumped 60.46 points or 1.1 percent to 5,614.66 and the Dow slid 260.32 points or 0.6 percent to 41,581.31. The sharp pullback on Wall Street came as traders cashed in on the recovery seen over the two previous sessions, which saw the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rebound after hitting six-month lows last Thursday. Concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies continued to weigh on Wall Street along with worries about the economic outlook despite the release of some upbeat economic data. Biotechnology stocks saw considerable weakness on the day, resulting in a 1.9 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Significant weakness was also visible among airline stocks with the NYSE Arca Airline Index falling by 1.8 percent. Computer hardware, semiconductor and software stocks also saw notable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Asia
Overall, there was little activity on the stock exchanges in East Asia on Wednesday. They defied the negative trend on Wall Street, where shares from the technology segment in particular were sold off. The Japanese central bank has already met and made its decision. As widely expected, it left interest rates unchanged, even though it is currently in a cycle of interest rate hikes, unlike the US Federal Reserve. The yen, which had weakened in the previous days, remains at a depressed level. The dollar costs 149.63 yen.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved higher over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 2.5 basis points to 4.281 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises U-Blox to CHF 92 (81) – Neutral
Dt. Bank lowers Sodexo to 93 (94) EUR – Buy
Dt. Bank raises Yara to NOK 357 (340) – Hold

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