British food-delivery company Deliveroo said it received a proposal from DoorDash earlier this month to buy all of its shares for 1.8 billion Pound Sterling ($2.40) a piece. Deliveroo said Friday that “it would be minded to recommend such an offer” to its shareholders, assuming an offer is made on those terms. Based on Deliveroo’s 1.5 billion outstanding shares, DoorDash’s offer values the company at approximately GBP2.7 billion, or about $3.6 billion. Deliveroo’s board has engaged with DoorDash regarding the offer and provided the San Francisco-based company with due diligence, Deliveroo said. The company noted there is no certainty a firm offer will be made. DoorDash has until May 23 to make such an offer. The two companies had been in deal talks last year, Reuters reported in June. Last week, London-listed Deliveroo maintained its full-year outlook after it reported higher revenue for the first quarter, boosted by strong gross-transaction-value growth in key markets. DoorDash, which is set to disclose its first-quarter earnings on May 7, has previously sought to strengthen its presence abroad through acquisitions, including its purchase of Finland’s Wolt Enterprises Oy in 2022. Deliveroo shares ticked up 5% on Friday, while DoorDash shares were flat.

The positive sentiment and increased risk appetite on the Swiss stock market and on the European markets as a whole continued at the end of the week. Statements by the head of the central bank, Martin Schlegel, are also likely to have provided some support. According to him, the SNB is prepared to cut interest rates further and intervene in the currency if necessary. The Swiss franc weakened slightly again as a result. The SMI gained 0.2 per cent to 11,942 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 15 gainers and 4 losers, with only Swisscom closing unchanged. A total of 19.84 million shares were traded (Thursday: 21.84 million). The top performers were ABB (+2.2%) ahead of Holcim (+1.7%) and Sika (+1.6%) and thus shares of cyclical companies. Holcim's first-quarter figures provided support for the building materials group. Nestlé (-1.9%) was at the bottom of the SMI. The day after the presentation of the figures, analysts lowered their share price targets. Their tenor is that although Nestle is on the right track, it still has a long way to go to regain its former strength. Kühne + Nagel (-1.5%) were also weak on the market. As a result, a large part of the gains the share had realised on Thursday in response to the quarterly figures was lost again.

Europe
The European stock market closed higher on Friday. The DAX gained 0.8 per cent to 22,242 points, marking its highest level since Trump's disastrous Liberation Day on 2 April. The Euro-Stoxx-50 also rose by 0.8 per cent to 5,154 points. Shares in Merck KGaA climbed by 1.2 per cent. The company is in advanced takeover talks with Springworks Therapeutics. The US biotech company specialises in the treatment of rare tumours (oncology). The reporting season also set the tone. Deutsche Telekom fell by 4.8 per cent and was the day's loser on the DAX. The figures of the subsidiary T-Mobile US had a negative impact. Saint-Gobain jumped 4.7 per cent in Paris after the company reported higher sales for the first quarter, confirmed its outlook for the year as a whole and signalled no direct impact from customs tariffs. Vinci edged up 0.4 per cent. According to RBC analysts, Group revenues were in line with consensus expectations overall. However, the order books in the construction business continued to grow, which was seen as positive for the future outlook. The order backlog has risen to 72 billion euros compared to 69.1 billion euros at the end of 2024. Opportunities are arising from increased investment in Germany, while there is only a low level of exposure to the US.

United States
Stocks finished higher on Friday, extending the week’s rally to a fourth day, as investors prepared for a slew of economic data and corporate earnings reports slated for next week. The market rebound that started Tuesday continued as the week ended with the S&P 500 rising 0.7%, closing above 5500 for the first time since President Trump announced a new tariff regime April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 20 points, or less than 0.1%, higher. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.3% Markets had started the week under pressure, with investors in “Sell America” mode. That quickly morphed into a recovery, fuelled by hopes for a de-escalation in President Trump’s tariff battle with China, plus his retreat from threats to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Friday, the president said the U.S. is “very close” to a tariff deal with Japan. Gold, which soared in early April as investors sought havens, finished the week down about 1% at $3,282.40 a troy ounce. The precious metal is still up more than 5% in the month. Investors will scrutinise the gross-domestic-product report scheduled for Wednesday and the nonfarm payrolls figure to be released next Friday, for signs of which way the economy is going. Four of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks - Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft - will also report earnings, a barometer on how the technology sector is faring. Consumer sentiment data released Friday registered one of its lowest levels on record, though the measure came in slightly higher than a preliminary reading earlier in the month. Charter Communications shares climbed more than 11% on Friday, their biggest jump since November, after the company announced it had added more mobile customers than expected in the first quarter of the year. Tesla stock rose 9.8% after the U.S. transportation secretary announced new measures for a federal framework for self-driving cars. Elsewhere in tech, Intel fell 6.7% after reporting a quarterly loss. The chip maker warned that trade turmoil would push up its costs and could chill investment and spending. T-Mobile US shares plunged 11% following the announcement of slowed growth in the company’s wireless services division.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Monday. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo edged up 0.5 per cent to 35,876 points. There is no trading there on Tuesday due to a public holiday. In Seoul, the Kospi is marginally in positive territory. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, the trend is stable. In Seoul, Hanwha Ocean increased in price by 1.7 per cent in the run-up to the presentation of its quarterly figures. Meanwhile, the shipyard reported a new order. The share price of the oil refiner S-Oil is trending slightly upwards after the business figures fell short of expectations. In Tokyo, car shares were among the day's winners. Toyota, for example, jumped by 4.0 per cent, Nissan by 3.5 per cent and Honda by 0.9 per cent.

Bonds
Hints of a more stable policy backdrop in Washington hand U.S. Treasuries a second straight week of gains. Yields fall this week as President Trump backs away from threats to try to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, while reports suggest the White House is considering easing its stance toward China. Rising expectations of an economic slowdown in the U.S. this year continued to drag Treasury yields lower. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped to 4.25%. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which is more closely linked to Fed policy, also declined, by 3 basis points to 3.76%.

Analysis
Rating Sonova: HSBC upgrades to Buy (Hold) - Target CHF 290 (310)
Price target Kühne+Nagel: Goldman Sachs lowers to CHF 181 (183) - Sell
Price target Baloise: HSBC raises to CHF 186 (181) – Hold

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.