Salesforce (+1.5%) struck a roughly $8 billion deal for data-management software firm Informatica (+5.5%), in a bid to bolster its capabilities in the arms race to put artificial intelligence to work. Salesforce agreed to pay $25 a share for Informatica, the companies announced Tuesday, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal. The process was competitive, with Salesforce beating out multiple other strategic and private-equity suitors, including Cloud Software Group (formerly Citrix Systems) and Thoma Bravo, according to people familiar with the matter. Last year, Salesforce was working on a deal to buy Informatica that could have valued the Redwood City, Calif.-based company about $10 billion. After the companies couldn’t agree on terms, the talks fell apart. Informatica helps companies manage their data across systems both in the cloud and on site, allowing organizations to better analyze the data they collect. It counts companies ranging from Unilever to Toyota as customers.

The positive sentiment in response to the rapprochement between the US and the EU in the trade dispute pushed the Swiss equity market a little higher on Tuesday. However, the improved sentiment caused the defensive heavyweights Roche (-0.6%) and Novartis (-0.1%) to fall and weigh on the market. Novartis also started the takeover process for the US biotechnology company Regulus Therapeutics. The SMI gained 0.1 per cent to 12,325 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were eleven gainers and nine losers. A total of 13.54 (previously: 10.14) million shares were traded. Meanwhile, Switzerland reported weak export data for April, although exports of watches were convincing. This in turn was distorted by massive pull-forward effects to the USA. Richemont closed 1 per cent higher on the back of the data, while Swatch outside the SMI added 0.3 per cent. Among small caps, Renesas from Japan paid USD 51.7 million to AMS-Osram (+7.7%) as part of a settlement.

Europe
The European stock markets closed higher overall on Tuesday, still buoyed by a respite on the issue of tariffs between the United States and the European Union (EU). The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.3% to 552.3 points. The DAX 40 added 0.8% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 climbed 0.7% in London, the day after a bank holiday. In Paris, the CAC 40 closed close to balance and the SBF 120 remained stable, weighed down in particular by Renault (-2.1%). ELIS (+2.1%): the industrial laundry group announced that it was targeting sustained growth in its results over the medium term, thanks to underlying growth in its markets and productivity gains. VALLOUREC (+0.2%): the manufacturer of seamless tubes for the oil industry launched on Tuesday a share buyback programme worth up to €30 million. SANOFI (stable): the pharmaceutical company confirmed on Tuesday having finalised the purchase of an antibody from US biotech Dren Bio for a total amount of up to $1.9 billion, or around €1.7 billion.

United States
Easing trade tensions boosted optimism on Wall Street Tuesday, just days after the S&P 500 finished its worst week since the original Trump tariff announcements in early April. Major U.S. stock indexes climbed. Nasdaq led stock indexes higher with a 2.5% gain. The Dow and S&P 500 both snapped four-session losing streaks after President Trump walked back tariff threats against the European Union and the two trading partners indicated that talks were back on track. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 741 points, while the S&P rose more than 2%, its biggest jump since since May 12, when news of a rollback on tariffs between the U.S. and China sent the index 3.3% higher. Investors will also consider the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its last policy meeting this week and the April reading of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Early Tuesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari called for keeping policy on hold until there is more clarity on the global trade outlook. Meanwhile, new data showed durable-goods orders slid in April, the month Trump unveiled his sweeping levies. Bitcoin traded around $110,000, close to record highs. Gold futures dropped 1.9%. Nvidia was supported by the technology giant's plans to offer simpler and significantly cheaper AI chips specifically for the Chinese market from June. The share price rose by 3.2 per cent. The technology giant will publish its much-noticed business figures on Wednesday after the end of trading. Apple (+2.5%), another technology stock, was very firm, making up the lion's share of Friday's losses. US President Trump had threatened to impose tariffs of 25 per cent on iPhones manufactured in India. Qualcomm was once again given more time to take over the British semiconductor manufacturer Alphawave IP Group. Qualcomm climbed by 2.2 per cent. Tesla shares advanced 6.7 per cent after Elon Musk declared his intention to refocus on running his companies. Eli Lilly (+1.6%) made an acquisition: The pharmaceutical group will take over SiteOne Therapeutics, a company specialising in pain treatment, for up to USD 1 billion. PDD Holdings slumped by 13.6 per cent. The parent company of Chinese internet retailer Temu reported a drop in profits due to weakening demand in China.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 0.5 per cent. Alibaba dropped by 1.9 per cent and Meituan by 1.4 per cent. In contrast, Xiaomi gained 1.4 per cent after presenting convincing business figures. The Composite Index in Shanghai is up 0.1 per cent. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.3 per cent. In Seoul, South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1.6 per cent. Here, too, investors are flocking to chip stocks in the hope of good Nvidia figures. SK Hynix increased by 2.7 per cent and the shares of index heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced by 2.9 per cent.

Bonds
U.S. Treasury yields fell overnight, after a sale of new two-year notes drew modestly firmer overall demand. The sale, to be followed by auctions of five-year and seven-year paper later in the week, was the first auction of benchmark U.S. debt since Moody's lowered its triple-A credit rating on the federal government. The 10-year Treasury note yield decreased by 7 basis points (0.07 percentage points) to 4.45%. The 2-year Treasury note yield slipped by 2 basis points to 3.99%.

Analysis
Target price Nestlé: Jefferies upgrades to CHF 77 (75) - Underperform
Target price Vontobel: Octavian downgrades to CHF 63 (66) - Hold
Target price DocMorris: Hauck Aufhäuser IB downgrades to CHF 15 (60) - Buy