Recruitment and temporary work specialist Adecco experienced a slow second quarter, with declining revenue and stable profit. Management expects profitability to improve in the second half of the year compared to the first six months. Turnover decreased from April to June by 1% to 5.78 billion euros (5.40 billion francs). In organic terms, growth was zero, according to the press release released on Tuesday. Adjusted operating income (Ebita) fell by 21% to €141 million, for a similar margin of 2.5%, down 60 basis points. As for the gross margin, it declined to 18.9% after 19.4%. Net profit stagnated at 58 million. While Ebita and gross margin narrowly missed the consensus, the Ebita margin was consistent, while organic growth exceeded expectations. Revenues even overshot the most optimistic expectations of the analysts consulted. Management forecasts gross margin to increase during the current quarter and plans to limit spending, excluding exceptional items.

Only with slight discounts did the Swiss stock market end trading on Monday and thus recovered significantly from the daily lows. At the start of trading, the "tariff hammer" from the USA caused the burden, to which the market could only react at the beginning of the week due to the national holiday on Friday. The US government intends to tax imports from Switzerland with 39 percent and thus even higher than the 31 percent Donald Trump had announced on the so-called Liberation Day. About a fifth of Swiss watch exports went to the USA. Swatch shares dropped by 2.3 percent, Richemont shed 1.5 percent. The SMI finally declined by 0.1 percent to 11,819 points and thus closed at a daily high. The pharmaceutical stocks Roche (-1.1%) and Novartis (+0.5%) were mixed. US President Donald Trump has asked 17 pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of medicines for US consumers to the lowest price offered in other industrialised countries. UBS (-0.8%) reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice in an eight-year legal dispute and now pays 300 million dollars as compensationt. These amount to the obligations of Credit Suisse, which UBS took over in 2023.

Europe
European stock markets rebounded on Monday, after folding on Friday under the effect of poor US employment figures and Donald Trump's new tariffs. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended the session up 0.9%, to 540.6 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 recovered 1.1% each. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt won 1.4% while the FTSE 100 appreciated by 0.7% in London. AIR FRANCE-KLM (+14% to 12.68 euros): the share of the Franco-Dutch company took off, supported by the fall in oil prices and by the lift of Barclays' recommendation, from "underweight" to "neutral weighting". ESSILORLUXOTTICA (+0.4%): the manufacturer of lenses and glasses confirmed on Monday the acquisition of the company Automation & Robotics (A&R), based in Belgium and specialised in the design and manufacture of automated quality control systems for optical lenses. The financial elements of this targeted acquisition ("bolt-on") have not been disclosed. GECINA (+0.5%): the office, shop and housing company revealed on Friday having bought bonds for a total amount of 527.6 million euros. WENDEL (+1.8%): the investment company stated on Monday its intention to issue 500 million euros of new 8-year bonds in order to repay a bond strain maturing in February 2027.

United States
Stocks rallied Monday, with last week’s worries about the economy giving way to broad dip-buying and rate-cut optimism. All three major U.S. indexes rose more than 1%, with each notching its largest daily percentage gain since May. The rally was broad-based, encompassing everything from utilities to meme stocks. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% on Monday, while the Nasdaq composite rose 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 585 points, or 1.3%, after logging its worst weekly performance since April. U.S. stocks had tumbled Friday after a monthly employment report depicted a weakening labor market. That darkening economic backdrop, however, has bolstered hopes for interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year. In the wake of Friday’s jobs report, investors ramped up bets that central bankers will cut rates in September. Shares of American Eagle Outfitters surged 24% after Trump posted on social media praising the retailer’s controversial ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. Shares of Opendoor Technologies, another freshly minted meme stock, rose 17%. The re-emergence of such speculative bets has some investors watching for signs of a market bubble. Utility-sector stocks were among those leading gains in the S&P 500: Atmos Energy stock rose 2.3%, while shares of power provider Vistra logged a 2.9% gain. Investors are still contending with ever-shifting headlines on the president’s tariff plans. The new trade deadline looms on Thursday, and the stage is set for last-minute negotiations between the White House and countries still hoping to negotiate lower duties. Switzerland, stung with a surprise 39% tariff, said it was ready to make a more attractive offer to the U.S. The European Union said it would pause for six months the retaliatory levies it would have imposed on the U.S. if a deal hadn’t been reached. Traders will also parse earnings updates from companies including McDonald’s, Disney and Uber later this week. About two-thirds of S&P 500 companies had reported quarterly results as of Friday. Of them, over 80% reported better-than-expected earnings per share, according to FactSet. That number includes big tech names like Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which have helped lead stocks to multiple fresh records this summer.

Asia
In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo added 0.7 percent to 40,590 points. The Kospi in Seoul increased by 1.3 percent, the market barometer in Sydney is up by 1.1 percent. In Shanghai (+0.5%) and Hong Kong (+0.2%) the indices are lagging slightly behind. Following quarterly reports, the JFE steel stock jumped 1.2 percent and Daiwa Securiries gained 1.2 percent. In Sydney, Austal soared 5.5 percent to an all-time high. The shipbuilder has upped its forecast for the operating result. The Australian government had concluded an agreement with Austal as a strategic builder of warships.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields slipped on Monday in the absence of major U.S. economic indicators and as markets increase odds of an interest rate cut after Friday’s dismal jobs report. President Trump is expected to place an ally at the top of the agency in charge of measuring employment, after firing the BLS commissioner following below-forecast job creation in July and sharp downward revisions in May and June. Markets are pricing in 90% odds of a Fed cut in September, up from 63% a week ago, CME data show. The 10-year Treasury note yield gave up 3 bps to 4.20%.

Analysis
Jefferies upgrades Ams-Osram to 14 (13) CHF - Buy
Berenberg lifts Logitech target to 90 (88) CHF - Buy
Vontobel raises Holcim target to 73 (61) CHF - Buy