A 1.8% gain in Nvidia’s stock helped boost stocks midafternoon after new tariff developments dampened the rally. The S&P 500 and Dow industrials are both less than 1.3% off their record highs. Nvidia’s climb also made the chip maker briefly the world’s first company with a market value of $4 trillion. Wednesday’s milestone came barely two years after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, led by Chief Executive Jensen Huang, notched a $1 trillion closing valuation for the first time. Nvidia eventually closed with a market cap of $3.974 trillion, still the highest for any company on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Nvidia shares have jumped 40% over the past three months, rebounding with the broader market after the April tariff selloff. CEO Huang warned in May that curbs on chip exports to China could dent sales by $15 billion. Investors are hopeful that the surge in demand for AI will boost the company’s earnings. Nvidia is a behemoth by any measurement. At $4 trillion, the company’s market cap is larger than the bottom 216 companies in the S&P 500 combined, according to the market data researchers. It is also greater than the market cap of each of the following S&P 500 sectors: consumer staples, energy, real estate, materials, and utilities. Its valuation is also bigger than the combined market caps of Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Arm, Applied Materials, Micron Technology, Lam Research, and KLA Corp, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The SMI gained 0.3 per cent to 12,007 points on Wednesday. Among the 21 SMI stocks, there were 13 price gainers and eight price losers. A total of 19.75 (previously: 21.25) million shares were traded. Pharmaceutical stocks were in the spotlight due to Trump's tariff threats. However, the tariffs are not to be implemented for another one and a half years. Until then, the companies should have time to change their supply chains. ‘In a year and a half, a lot of water will still be sloshing across the Atlantic,’ one market participant reassured investors. While Roche rose by 0.9 per cent, Novartis dropped by 0.2 per cent. According to a report by the Swiss Re Institute, insurers are likely to see slower premium growth worldwide due to the current unstable political environment and competitive pressure. However, local sector stocks were fairly unimpressed: Zurich Insurance climbed 1.2 per cent, Swiss Life by 0.8 per cent and Swiss Re by 0.2 per cent. Following a positive analyst report, UBS jumped 1.5 per cent. The analysts of this company had given a positive assessment of Holcim and the share price rose by 1.8 per cent. Partners Group (+0.1%) expanded in the USA and opened a branch in Miami.

Europe
The European stock markets advanced on Wednesday, shrugging off new threats of tariffs from US President Donald Trump. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.8% to 550 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 increased by 1.4%, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt. In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.2%. ESSILORLUXOTTICA (+5.6%): the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms, has acquired ‘just under 3%’ of the capital of the eyewear and corrective lenses manufacturer, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday evening, citing sources familiar with the matter who wished to remain anonymous. FDJ UNITED (-4.6%): Crédit Agricole Assurances, the bancassurer of the CREDIT AGRICOLE banking group (+2.4%), sold its entire stake (around 3.3% of the capital) in the former Française des Jeux, at a price of €30 per share. PUBLICIS (-1.8%): the advertising group was one of the biggest decliners on the CAC 40, in the wake of the profit warning issued by its British rival WPP. COMMERZBANK in the DAX rose 0.4 per cent. By consolidating its stake in Commerzbank through the conversion of derivatives into shares, Unicredit (+3.2 per cent) hopes to maintain flexibility in its negotiating position, according to Equita Sim.

United States
A big day for Nvidia shares helped power a fresh all-time high for the Nasdaq composite on Wednesday, despite new tariff threats from the Trump administration. All three major U.S. indexes posted gains after President Trump released new letters setting levies on goods from a half-dozen countries including the Philippines, Libya and Iraq. That followed the prior day’s tariff announcements, which included a tax of up to 200% on pharmaceutical imports. Wednesday was the original deadline for reaching trade deals with Washington, before Trump extended it to Aug. 1, and many investors have begun wagering the White House won’t ultimately follow through on its harshest threats. Traders are now looking ahead to financial reports from major companies due to arrive in coming weeks, hoping for signs that ongoing growth in corporate earnings will help extend the rally that carried stocks from the depths of the tariff meltdown to fresh records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, or about 218 points, to 44458 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9%. Some trade-sensitive stocks also gained. Williams-Sonoma shares gained 2.7%, Stanley Black & Decker added 1.7% and E.l.f. Beauty added 0.6%. Automakers such as General Motors and Stellantis gained. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge because it tracks investors’ bets on stock swings over the next 30 days, fell below 16 for the first time since February. Copper futures retreated 3.6%, losing some ground after Trump’s announcement of 50% duties on the metal sent prices to records the day before.

Asia
Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are optimistic about an end to the tariff uncertainty after US President Donald Trump made it clear that he will not extend the August 1 deadline for trade deals, though he gets aggressive with tariff imposition. They are also optimistic about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday. The Japanese market is trading notably lower on Thursday, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39'610, down 0.52 percent, after hitting a low of 39,547.26 earlier. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 1.1 percent each, while New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each.

Bonds
Long-dated U.S. government debt yields slipped on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury note yield declined by 7 basis points to 4.34%, while the 2-year Treasury note yield shed 4 basis points to 3.86%. The auction of 10-year U.S. government debt drew strong demand from domestic buyers on Wednesday, easing a jittery market. The Treasury sold $39 billion of 10-year notes in the early afternoon. Investors accepted a yield of 4.362% on the 10-year note, about 0.4 basis points below the yield before the bidding deadline. That means investors bought all the notes on offer, even at a lower rate. Basis points are hundredths of a percentage point. Furthermore treasury yields fall as Trump increases pressure on Fed Chair Powell for sharp interest rate cuts. CME data shows the Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold later this month. Markets mostly price a 25-basis point cut in September.

Analysis
UBS upgrades Holcim target to CHF 60 (52) - Neutral
Deutsche Bank raises Ams-Osram target to CHF 12.50 (8.50) - Buy
Deutsche Bank increases Logitech target to CHF 70 (60) - Hold