Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica said it would buy AI-focused ophthalmology platform Optegra from MidEuropa, as part of the group’s medical technology strategy. The Franco-Italian eyewear group said that the deal builds on the company’s offering, which spans beyond frames and lenses to include AI-powered technologies, wearables, medical instruments and science-backed eyecare solutions. Last year, EssilorLuxottica extended a partnership with Facebook parent Meta to develop smart Ray-Ban glasses, as part of its push into artificial intelligence. Optegra operates a network of over 70 eye hospitals and diagnostic facilities across the U.K., Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and the Netherlands. Its offering comprises ophthalmic treatments and elective vision correction procedures supported by artificial intelligence in the pre- and postoperative phases. The transaction, the financial details of which weren’t disclosed, is expected to close later this year, subject to approval.

Save for a few minutes at the start when it stayed a bit weak, the Swiss market remained positive on Friday, and despite coming off the day's high hit around noon, ended the session modestly higher. Despite renewed concerns about trade tensions, the market managed to remain steady thanks to sustained buying at some frontline counters. The benchmark SMI closed up 40.34 points or 0.33% at 12,227.08, nearly 90 points off the day's high of 12,315.75. Sandoz Group climbed 3.32%, and Roche Holding closed 2.04% up. Lonza Group, Adecco, Novartis and Julius Baer gained 1.3 to 1.5%. Geberit, Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, Lindt & Spruengli and Givaudan posted modest gains. Holcim ended 2.57% down, and Logitech International closed lower by 2.34%. ABB, Straumann Holding, VAT Group, Schindler Ps and SIG Group lost 1 to 1.6%. Survey results from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed that a measure signaling future turning points in the Swiss economy improved slightly in May, but it still indicates that the outlook for the economy remains subdued.

Europe
Despite uncertainty surrounding Trump administration's tariff plans, The major European markets mostly closed higher on Friday. Trade tensions escalated after the U.S. President accused China of violating trade agreement reached earlier this month, but investors picked up stocks amid expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.14% up. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.64%, Germany's DAX gained 0.27%, and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.34%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.33%. Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Portugal, Russia and Spain posted modest gains, while Austria, Belgium and Iceland edged up marginally. In the UK market, M&G climbed about 5.5%. GSK, BT Group, AstraZeneca, Unite Group and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners gained 2.4 to 3.5%. Glencore, Whitbread, United Utilities, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Schroders, Severn Trent, Reckitt Benckise, JD Sports Fashion, National Grid, Tesco and Babcock International Group also ended notably higher. IAG, Spirax Group, Compass Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Rio Tinto and Endeavour Mining closed lower by 1 to 2%. In the German market, Zalando gained about 2% and Fresenius climbed 1.9%. SAP, Munich RE and Symrise gained 1 to 1.3%. Sartorius, Porsche, Heidelberg Materials, Infineon and Siemens Healthineers closed lower by 1 to 3.3%. In the French market, Eurofins Scientific rallied more than 3%. Hermes International gained nearly 2% and L'Oreal climbed 1.72%. Carrefour ended down 7.4% and Sanofi closed nearly 5% down.

United States
Stock shook off a sluggish start on Friday, with the major U.S. markets posting a mild recovery to finish mixed and little changed. The Dow rose 54.34 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 42,270.07, while the NASDAQ slipped 62.11 points or 0.32 percent to close at 19,113.77 and the S&P 500 eased 0.48 points or 0.01 percent to end at 5,911.69. The early selling pressure on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement reached last month. In U.S. economic news, a closely watched report release by the Commerce Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. crept slightly higher in the month of April. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. The uptick matched economist estimates. The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index slowed to 2.1 percent in April from 2.3 percent in March. Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.2 percent. Excluding prices for food and energy, the core PCE price index still crept up by 0.1 percent in April following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in March. The modest increase came in line with expectations. Deere & Co. is considering a reshuffle of its production among existing factories globally and weighing price increases as it aims to offset more than $500 million in expected costs from the Trump administration’s new tariffs. The Moline, Ill.-based farm equipment manufacturer on May 15 said it incurred about $100 million in tariff expenses in the latest quarter and expects more than $400 million in additional expenses through the end of its fiscal year in October. The company booked $7.1 billion in net income for the year ended last October, down 30% from a year earlier, and roughly $45 billion in net sales, down 19%.

Asia
The U.S. tariff policy has returned as a negative factor and is depressing prices on the Asian stock markets at the start of the week. While the Chinese mainland stock exchanges remain closed for the Dragon Boat Festival, the HSI in Hong Kong fell by 2.2 per cent. Japanese shares were also weak, with the Nikkei-225 down 1.4 per cent. The downturn was led by technology and automotive stocks. In Tokyo, for example, Advantest fell by 3.5 per cent, Renesas by 2.9 per cent, Toyota Motor by 2.8 per cent and Honda by 2.4 per cent. Car stocks are also under greater pressure in Hong Kong, with BYD losing 3.2 per cent.

Bonds
Yields fell slightly on the U.S. bond market. The ten-year yield fell by 4 basis points to 4.39 per cent. Yields fell in the face of signs of declining inflation, it was reported.

Analysis
UBS raises the SAP target to EUR 307 (265) – Buy
UBS raises the MTU target to EUR 410 (370) – Buy
Citi raises the Munich Re target by 2% to EUR 610 – Neutral