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Swiss Stocks Rise; SMG Swiss Marketplace Group Jumps

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The blue-chip Swiss Market Index concluded Tuesday's trading 0.54% in the green as investors took stock of the US' less-severe-than-expected "economic D-Day" measures against Iran.

"Starting with [Scott] Bessent's announcements on Iran, the US Treasury Secretary threatened secondary sanctions against any country enabling Iran's economy, calling the move 'economic asphyxiation' of Iran's regime. He noted that [President Donald] Trump is calling world leaders with 'specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime'. However, there were no concrete new steps other than sanctioning 60 Iran-linked entities and individuals, with Bessent saying 'we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,'" analysts at Deutsche Bank Research said.

Back home, Switzerland's Federal Statistical Office said its initial estimates for 2025 showed that the country's gross domestic product expanded by 1.6% at the previous year's prices, compared with the upwardly revised GDP growth of 1.5% in 2024.

Over to corporates, SMG Swiss Marketplace Group (SMG.SW) gained 8.15% at closing as profit after tax doubled year over year to 56.4 million francs in the first half, while group revenue jumped 11.3% to 179.8 million francs on the back of double-digit growth at all core business units. The online marketplace and digital company also announced several leadership changes, including naming Alberto Sanz de Lama as its new chief executive officer, as part of a structured succession process.

Berenberg lowered its rating on DKSH (DKSH.SW) to hold from buy and cut its price target, noting that the Swiss market expansion services provider's performance materials segment has "limited" visibility on volumes, although it continues to be the company's key profit driver. The stock was 2.25% in the red.

"DKSH's shares have appreciated by c16% ytd. With the stock now trading broadly in line with our revised CHF68 price target (down from CHF75), we believe the risk-reward profile is no longer compelling and we move to the sidelines, downgrading DKSH to Hold," according to the research firm. "While we continue to view DKSH as a quality company with robust cash generation and shareholder returns, the lack of positive consensus earnings revisions leaves further share price appreciation reliant on uncertain capital deployment."

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Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Push Technology Lower, Bessent Unveils Plans to Choke Iran's Economy

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, analyst comments, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes closed mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil extended declines after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a plan to sever Iran's economic lifelines.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to 25,980.19, and the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,652.86 on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.3% to 53,417.16. All sectors except three rose, with consumer staples and financials emerging as top gainers.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, nine of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those nine firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 6.5%.Treasury Secretary Bessent unveiled "unprecedented" secondary sanctions to sever Tehran from the global economy.The US plans to impose sanctions on countries that do business with Iran, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey, Axios reported. "No one is above the reach of US sanctions," CNBC reported, citing Bessent on Monday in response to a question on whether the Trump administration would target Chinese banks."... we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said. The campaign targets five sectors that Treasury identified as vital to Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, he said.Ahead of the US announcement, Iran warned vessels violating its rules for transiting the Strait of Hormuz could face restrictions, including fines, detention or confiscation, according to Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster. Tehran has condemned US plans to announce new sanctions and vowed to retaliate against any country that supports Washington, as President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a diplomatic solution.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 2.4% to $84.95 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 2.6% to $91.93 per barrel.Following the collapse of the US-Canada trade talks late on Friday, the US has imposed tariffs of 50% on $20 billion of goods imports from Canada, according to a note from Macquarie. The tariffs amount to about 0.03% of US gross domestic product and 0.4% of Canada's GDP, the note added.Nvidia (NVDA) customers are facing price increases of over 15% on servers equipped with its artificial intelligence chips due to rising memory costs, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Separately, Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported Sunday. Nvidia declined 2.9%, the Dow's worst performer.Expedia (EXPE) delivered its fifth consecutive beat and raise in Q2, with full-year guidance raised on all three lines, as the business-to-consumer segment continues to see solid top-line improvement and stronger margin expansion, Wedbush Securities said Thursday. Shares of Expedia jumped 5.4%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,704.3, while silver futures slid 1% to $68.86.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$EXPE$NVDA$SNDK
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Investors Await Iran Sanctions While Chipmakers Push Technology Lower

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Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$EXPE$MSTR$NVDA$SNDK
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Fall, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 0.7%.US equity indexes traded mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each lost 1.3%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) fell 1.5%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) also declined.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) shed 3.2%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) eased 2.7%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) advanced 2.8%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 2.8%.CommoditiesCrude oil eased 2%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 1.5%. Natural gas gained 0.1%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) climbed 1.6%.Gold on Comex rose 0.8%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.8%. Silver slipped 1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell 0.9%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 1.4%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 1.4%, while iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) gained 0.9%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.4%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 0.9%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) gained 1%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 0.2%. iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were also lower. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.9%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) dipped 0.9%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also in the red.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) added 2.1%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) gained 2.6%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was up 2.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) climbed 3.3%.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH