Eye care company Alcon (+2.3%), Inc. (ALC) and medical technology company LENSAR, Inc. (LNSR) announced Monday the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement through which Alcon intends to acquire LENSAR. The acquisition includes ALLY Robotic Cataract Laser Treatment System, LENSAR's proprietary Streamline software technology and LENSAR legacy laser system, building Alcon's femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) offering. Under the terms of the agreement, Alcon will purchase all outstanding shares of LENSAR for $14.00 per share in cash or an aggregate implied value of approximately $356 million, with an additional non-tradeable contingent value right offering up to $2.75 per share in cash, conditioned on achievement of 614,000 cumulative procedures with LENSAR's products between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027. The transaction represents a total consideration of up to approximately $430 million. The total potential consideration of $16.75 per share represents a premium of 24% to LENSAR's 30-day VWAP and a premium of 47% to LENSAR's 90-day VWAP, assuming the milestone is met. Currently, there are more than 5 million cataract procedures in the U.S., and approximately 32 million globally.(1) FLACS is designed to allow surgeons to utilize a computer-guided laser to address and manage the high prevalence of visually significant astigmatism, perform corneal incisions, capsulotomy, including a refractive capsulotomy, and lens fragmentation, removing the need for blade incisions. This can contribute to more precise, reproducible and reliable cataract surgery. The transaction is anticipated to close in mid-to-late 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by LENSAR's stockholders. Lazard is serving as financial advisor to Alcon, and Norton Rose Fulbright is serving as legal advisor to Alcon. Wells Fargo is serving as financial advisor to LENSAR and Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to LENSAR. Alcon has obtained the CE label for the Clareon Vivity intraocular lens in the EU, as detailed in a press release issued on Tuesday.

After a favourable start to trading on Monday, the Swiss stock market closed in the red. The SMI lost 0.6 per cent to 13,000 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were twelve price gainers and eight price losers. A total of 17.36 million shares were traded (previously: 60.5 million). The index was held back in particular by declines in the defensive heavyweights Roche (-1.6%), Novartis (-1.2%) and Nestlé (-2.3%). Nestlé and Roche in particular had served as driving forces since the beginning of the year. Alcon, on the other hand, was in demand with gains of 2.3 per cent. The ophthalmology company is taking over the medical technology company Lensar in a transaction worth up to 430 million US dollars. Following a positive commentary from Goldman Sachs, Swiss Re climbed 1.3 per cent. Once again, headlines about a possible relocation of UBS's headquarters abroad made the rounds and the share price climbed 1 per cent. Givaudan fell only visually by 1.8 per cent; the shares were traded ex-dividend.

Europe
The European stock markets were little changed on Monday morning, as investors continued to wonder about the scope of the US tariffs due to be announced on 2 April. The Stoxx Europe 600 was close to balance at 549.4 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 were down 0.1%. The DAX 40 advanced by 0.2% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 was stable in London. VALNEVA (+5%): the vaccine manufacturer announced on Monday that it had signed an agreement with the Réunion Regional Health Agency to supply at least 40,000 doses of its Ixchiq vaccine against chikungunya. UBISOFT (+6.1%): the video games publisher revealed that the new opus in its best-selling Assassin's Creed series had been played by 2 million people two days after its release. THALES (+2.3%): on Monday, UBS raised its recommendation on the technology and defence group's shares from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ and raised its target price from €160 to €330. VIVENDI (+1.1%): the media group declared on Friday that it had dropped below 20% of the capital of telecoms operator Telecom Italia (+1%) following the sale of shares on the market. BAYER (-7.3%): the German agrochemical and pharmaceutical group was sentenced to pay 2.1 billion dollars by a jury in a Georgia state court, the latest legal defeat for the company in a case concerning its Roundup weedkiller.

United States
Stocks started the week on an upbeat note, with investors welcoming the U.S.’s latest pivot on trade that would limit the tariffs it is set to introduce next week. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3%, leading the session’s gains. The S&P 500 added 1.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, or nearly 600 points. All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 climbed Monday, except for the utilities sector. Consumer-discretionary stocks, which have slumped recently on concerns that higher import levies would dent consumer spending, led the charge higher. Big tech stocks rose. Tesla shares jumped 12% Monday, a bright spot in what has been a rough start to the year for the maker of electric vehicles. The market’s other dominant “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks—Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Nvidia and Meta Platforms— also gained. President Trump had said he would impose tariffs to match those aimed at the U.S. by trading partners starting on April 2. But the planned reciprocal action looks set to be more targeted than originally thought, The Wall Street Journal reported. The administration has narrowed its focus to about 15% of nations running persistent trade imbalances with the U. S.—dubbed the “dirty 15” by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Trump said Monday that tariffs on automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals might not be implemented until after April 2. Though the measures under consideration still amount to a shock to world trade, they fall short of the worst-case economic scenarios investors had been girding for. Solid economic data out Monday gave investors another reason for optimism. The latest S&P Global Flash U.S. Composite PMI, which measures manufacturing and services activity, showed that U.S. growth accelerated in March, thanks to an upturn in services. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, which measures expectations for where the stock market is headed through S&P 500 options, fell to its lowest level this month.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday. There was a sharp drop in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng Index falling by 2 per cent. In Shanghai, meanwhile, the Composite Index is up 0.1 per cent. Among individual stocks, BYD slumped by 9.6 per cent in Hong Kong following the electric car manufacturer's figures, which were in line with expectations. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.5 per cent to 37,803 points, while in Seoul the Kospi gave up initial gains and is now down 0.6 per cent. Hyundai Motor and Kia climbed 4.5 and 2.3 per cent respectively in the wake of Hyundai's announcement of investments in the US to circumvent US punitive tariffs. However, the share price of steel subsidiary Hyundai Steel plummeted by 7.3 per cent, despite the decision to build a plant in the US.

Bonds
U.S. Bond yields rose on Monday on reports that new U.S. tariffs won’t be as severe as threatened. The 10-year Treasury note yield, highly dependent on growth prospects, gained 8 basis points (0.08 percentage points) to 4.34%. The 2-year Treasury note yield also climbed 8 basis points, to 4.05%.

Analysis
GS raises target Swiss Re to CHF 150 (143)/Neutral - Traders
Target price Oerlikon: UBS increases target to CHF 3.92 (3.60) - Neutral
Berenberg lifts Geberit target to CHF 649 (604) - Buy
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