Shell (+1.5%) said it is targeting hydrocarbon production growth and plans to further increase shareholder returns as the energy giant outlined its strategy for the next five years at its capital markets day. The London-listed company said Tuesday that its new strategy will deliver more value with less emissions and includes increased cost-reduction target and lower capital expenditure. Its update comes weeks after British peer BP jettisoned its low-carbon strategy and cut spending on energy-transition assets in favour of core oil-and-gas production. Shell said it would grow top-line production across its upstream and integrated gas business by 1% a year through 2030. This will sustain its 1.4 million barrels a day of liquids production through 2030, it said. The oil major will also target sales growth in its liquefied natural gas business of 4% to 5% a year through to 2030. Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said he wants to position Shell as the world's leading integrated gas and liquefied natural gas business. Shell said it would will also increase shareholder distributions to 40% to 50% of cash flow from operations, or CFFO, from a previous target of 30% to 40%. The company will continue to prioritize share buybacks and said it will maintain its 4% a year progressive dividend policy. At its 2023 capital markets day, Shell increased its shareholder returns ratio to 30% to 40% of CFFO from a previous target of 20% to 30%.

Following the losses of the past two sessions, the Swiss stock market recovered only very slightly on Tuesday. The SMI gained 0.1 per cent to 13,013 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were eleven price winners and eight price losers, with one stock closing unchanged. A total of 22.69 (previously: 17.36) million shares were traded. Banking stocks were in demand across Europe, with UBS gaining 1.7 per cent in Switzerland. Kühne & Nagel, on the other hand, fell 4 per cent due to a disappointing annual outlook. Holcim (+0.3%) sees annual EBITDA growth of 8 to 11 per cent for its US subsidiary Amrize until 2028. The building materials group is planning to spin off its US subsidiary by the end of the first half of the year, which is likely to be one of the largest transactions of the year in the industry. Alcon (-0.3%) saw both positive and negative analyst comments. Among small caps, Baloise rose by 4.3 per cent. The company can look back on a good financial year. The recently presented refocussing strategy was said to have got off to a successful start. Medacta (+5%) also impressed with its 2024 business figures, as did Skan (+3.5%), reporting a significant increase in profits and a strong order intake in 2024.

Europe
The European stock markets rose on Tuesday, as investors took note of a number of economic indicators on both sides of the Atlantic, against a backdrop still marked by US customs duties. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.7% to 552.6 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 advanced by 1.1% and 1% respectively. The DAX 40 rose by 1.1% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 closed up 0.3% in London. ALSTOM (-0.6%): Transilien SNCF Voyageurs has decided to suspend delivery of new RER NG trainsets from the rail equipment manufacturer due to a quality problem. ARCELORMITTAL (-0.1%): the steel group has been placed under investigation for ‘endangering others’ and ‘forgery and use of forgeries’ in connection with industrial pollution in the Fos-sur-Mer region (Bouches-du-Rhône), AFP has learned from the Marseille public prosecutor's office.

United States
U.S. stocks edged higher Tuesday, with hopes for a moderate outcome on tariffs outweighing another drop in consumer-sentiment data. Major indexes swung between small gains and losses throughout the session, before late-session gains pulled the S&P 500 up 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%. In the latest of those, the Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell around seven points to 92.9, a slightly bigger drop than economists had expected and a drag on stocks. Forward-looking expectations for income, business and labor-market conditions dropped to the lowest level in 12 years. Among individual stocks, International Paper rose 6.5% after targeting a jump in earnings. A 3.1% decline in Walmart shares weighed on the Dow industrials. New data showed Tesla sales plunged 47% in the European Union in February. Tesla shares still rose 3.4%, after a big rally Monday. Boeing gained 0.9 per cent. The aircraft maker is seeking to withdraw an earlier agreement to plead guilty in a protracted criminal case in which the company was accused of deceiving regulators ahead of two fatal crashes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mobileye climbed 8.5 per cent. The autonomous driving specialist cooperates with Volkswagen and French automotive supplier Valeo. Mosaic lost 1.7 per cent - Nutrien 4.5 per cent. According to reports, Russia will be allowed to export fertiliser and agricultural products again following a partial ceasefire. Prices for potash fertiliser could therefore fall on the global market. According to an agency report, AT&T (+1.3%) intends to strengthen its position with an acquisition worth billions. The US telecommunications group is currently talking exclusively to Lumen Technologies (-9.4%) about its fibre-optic business, according to the report. KB Home dropped by 5.2 per cent. The homebuilder had disappointed market expectations in the first quarter. Trump Media, the operator of the social platform Truth Social, majority-owned by President Trump, signed an agreement with Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds and products. The share price rose by 8.9 per cent. Unifirst slumped 14.3 per cent, Cintas (-0.6%) had ended takeover talks. Oklo plunged 6.4 per cent, the nuclear start-up posted higher losses and announced further losses.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Wednesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rises by 1.1 per cent to 38,213 points. Nintendo is in demand in Tokyo. Shares improved by 5.4 per cent. Investors are counting on the success of the new Switch 2 games console, which Nintendo plans to unveil next week. Meanwhile, the stock market in Shanghai is little changed. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index climbed 0.2 per cent after the heavy losses of the previous day. In Seoul, the Kospi increased by 1.2 per cent. Hyundai Motor (+1.8 per cent) and Kia (+1.2 per cent) are again benefiting from planned investments in the USA, which are intended to avoid punitive tariffs.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields slipped on Tuesday after a big lift on Monday from the uptick in economic optimism. The 10-year Treasury note yield eased by 3 basis points (0.03 percentage points) to 4.32%. The 2-year Treasury note yield gave up 2 basis points to 4.03%.

Analysis
JP Morgan upgrades UBS target to CHF 37 (34)/target EUR - Trader
UBS downgrades Air France-KLM to Neutral (Buy)/target EUR 11.45 (12.05) - Trader
UBS raises Enel target to EUR 8.40 (8.25)/Buy - Trader

Produced by MBI Martin Brückner Infosource GmbH & Co. KG on behalf of Swissquote. All news is acquired with journalistic accuracy. No liability is assumed for delays or errors.