A marriage of two of the country’s biggest credit-card issuers is moving forward.
Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover got the greenlight from bank regulators on Friday, who noted the approval was conditional on the resolution of pending enforcement actions against Discover. The deal greatly expands Capital One’s credit-card business and gives the bank a card network. Discover’s card network is one of few that compete with Visa and Mastercard. After the merger, Capital One would have more than $650 billion in assets. The greenlight could help encourage deals in the financial-services industry, which was expected to see an uptick in consolidation under the Trump administration. Bank regulators have recently moved to roll back rules that increased scrutiny of mergers, for example. Capital One shares climbed by 1.5 per cent and Discover shares by 3.6 per cent.

The Swiss stock market started the long Easter weekend on a slightly firmer note. The SMI gained 0.5 per cent to 11,661 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 price gainers and five price losers. A total of 28.45 (previously: 23.55) million shares were traded. Trading on the Swiss stock exchange was suspended on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Among individual stocks, ABB climbed 1.4 per cent. The Group presented solid business figures. The fact that ABB intends to spin off another division, Robotics, was also well received. Richemont advanced by 1.0 per cent after Swiss watch exports recovered slightly in March compared to the previous year, according to data published on Thursday. Exports to the USA in particular increased. Meanwhile, Swatch shares rose by 0.3 per cent. Index heavyweight Nestlé supported the SMI with a gain of 1.4 per cent. Swisscom, which is also considered defensive, was also a winner with a plus of 0.9 per cent. By contrast, cyclicals Geberit and Holcim lost 1.3 and 0.9 per cent respectively.

Europe
The European stock markets ended in the red on Thursday on the eve of their closure for the long weekend, giving a lukewarm reception to the European Central Bank's (ECB) rate cut against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty due to escalating tariffs. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 0.1% at 506.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gave up 0.6% to 7,285.86 points and the SBF 120 shed 0.5% to 5,534.98 points. The DAX 40 lost 0.5% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 finished virtually unchanged. As expected, the ECB cut its key interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, while inflation remains ‘in line with expectations’ and the economy is showing signs of running out of steam. PLUXEE (+18.1%): the company specialising in meal vouchers and gift cards raised its gross operating margin forecast (recurring Ebitda) for the current financial year, after publishing better-than-expected results for the first half. FORVIA (+8%): the automotive supplier confirmed its targets for 2025 and said it would pass on a large proportion of customs duties to its customers. HERMES (-3.2%): the luxury goods group reported an increase in sales in the first quarter, but its organic growth fell short of analysts' expectations. Its rival LVMH (+0.1%) regained the title of France's largest market capitalisation, with a market capitalisation of almost $242.8 billion, compared with $241.4 billion for Hermès, according to Factset data. WORLDLINE (+0.9%): the share was buoyed by the announcement of the acquisition of its rival Worldpay by payment technology company Global Payments for $24.3 billion.

United States
The Trump rout is taking on historic dimensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed almost 1,000 points on Monday and is headed for its worst April performance since 1932, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500’s performance since Inauguration Day is now the worst for any president up to this point in data going back to 1928, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Worries about trade restrictions and the prospect of President Trump firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have investors bracing for greater losses ahead. Corporate earnings reports are rolling in, along with executives’ tariff-dented outlooks for the months ahead. Few think the administration’s negotiations with trade partners will yield results soon enough to ease the strain. Meanwhile, counterweights that usually strengthen when stocks fall—such as government bonds and the U.S. dollar—are also under pressure, leaving investors with few havens to wait out the storm. Tesla slumped by 5.7 per cent. The shares of the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk have fallen by more than 40 per cent this year, with vehicle sales declining significantly. Shares in the world's leading chip manufacturer Nvidia fell by 4.5 per cent. On Monday, CEO Jensen Huang met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. This meeting followed the CEO's talks with Chinese executives in Beijing on Thursday. Last week, the company announced that its H20 artificial intelligence chips, which are exported to China, will require a special export licence in the future. Unitedhealth (-6.4%) was again burdened by the weak outlook presented by the health insurer on Thursday. Critical analyst comments depressed the share prices of Amazon (-3.1%) and Salesforce (-4.5%). Netflix rose by 1.5 per cent. The company reported unexpectedly good earnings and sales figures after the close of trading on Thursday. The consensus on Wall Street suggests that Netflix will be able to weather any tariff-induced downturn. The streaming service stuck to its 2025 revenue forecast, signalling that it doesn't expect consumers to cancel subscriptions even if Trump's tariffs hurt economic growth.

Asia
Asian stock markets were treading water on Tuesday. The Nikkei-225 fell by 0.2 per cent to 34,207 points in late trading. The Chinese stock exchanges are similarly quiet to Japan. The HSI in Hong Kong was virtually unchanged, while the Shanghai Composite rose by 0.3 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi also shows little movement. The heavyweight Samsung Electronics shed 0.5 per cent.

Bonds
U.S Treasury yields were mixed as investors worry about the fate of Fed Chair Powell and trade wars weigh on sentiment. The 10-year Treasury note yield gained 9 basis points (0.09 basis point) to 4.42%. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which is more closely linked to Fed policy, dropped 4 basis points to 3.74%.

Analysis
UBS lowers Inficon target to CHF 130 (140) - Buy
Jefferies downgrades Holcim target to CHF 100 (108.70) - Hold
MS cuts Barry Callebaut target to CHF 1,030 (1,355) - Overw.

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