Givaudan reported a rise in full-year earnings on adjusted sales that saw a double-figure percentage growth. The Swiss flavor-and-fragrance company said Friday that full-year net profit for 2024 rose 22.1% to 1.09 billion Swiss francs ($1.20 billion) compared with 893 million Swiss francs a year prior. Analysts had expected net profit of 1.11 billion francs according to a company-compiled consensus. Full-year sales rose 12.3% on a like-for-like basis to 7.41 billion francs versus analyst expectations of 7.39 billion francs. The company said it has seen average like-for-like sales growth of 7.2% between 2021 and 2024. As a result, it expects to exceed the upper end of its average five-year sales growth target of 4%-5% on a like-for-like basis for the 2021 to 2025 period. Sales within its fragrance and beauty division rose to 3.66 billion francs while its taste & wellbeing division reported a rise in sales to 3.75 billion Swiss francs. The company intends to propose a dividend of 70.00 Swiss francs a share for 2024, a rise of 2.9% on year.

Despite struggling for direction early on in the session, Swiss stocks gained in strength past noon on Thursday and eventually closed the day's session on a firm note. The mood remained cautious on concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats. In Davos, Trump reaffirmed his earlier promises of tax cuts, tariffs on trading partners, and increased energy production. He also urged the Federal Reserve and other major central bank to cut interest rates. The benchmark SMI closed up 57.51 points or 0.47% at 12,265.40, the day's high, after having eased to 12,182.88 around mid morning. Logitech International climbed nearly 3%. Partners Group and Schindler Ps, both gained about 1.65%. Sandoz Group gained 1.3% following a rating upgrade by Baader Europe. Richemont and SIG Group gained 1.2 and 1%, respectively. Kuehne + Nagel, Holcim, Julius Baer, Nestle, Lindt & Spruengli, Novartis, Swiss Re, Lonza Group, UBS Group and Zurich Insurance advanced 0.4 to 1%. VAT Group closed 2.34% down. Sonova drifted down by about 1.2%, while Adecco, Alcon and Geberit ended lower by 0.4 to 0.7%.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Thursday, extending recent gains, amid continued optimism about further monetary easing by central banks. Despite worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats, investors picked up stocks, focusing on earnings and other corporate news. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.44%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.23%, Germany's DAX closed 0.74% up, and France's CAC 40 ended stronger by 0.7%, while Switzerland's SMI settled 0.47% up. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Netherlands and Russia ended weak, while Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Poland and Turkiye closed flat. In the UK market, Persimmon climbed nearly 4%. Taylor Wimpey, Natwest Group, ICG, Barratt Redrow, Centrica, Weir Group, Melrose Industries, Standard Chartered, Segro, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Berkeley Group, British American Tobacco, Smiths Group, BAE Systems and United Utilities gained 1 to 3.2%. Entain ended lower by about 4.25%. Associated British Foods closed nearly 3% down, after the company lowered its sales growth target for 2025. Marks & Spencer, Smith & Nephew, Sainsbury (J), JD Sports Fashion, WPP, Scottish Mortgage, Croda International, Rio Tinto and Informa lost 1 to 2%. In the German market, Siemens Energy rallied more than 6%. Fresenius Medical Care gained nearly 5%, and Zalando climbed 4.8%. Fresenius, Brenntag, MTU Aero Engines, Rheinmetall, Commerzbank, Volkswagen, Continental, Deutsche Bank, Allianz, Deautsche Post, BASF and Siemens gained 1 to 3%. Shares of sportswear maker Puma plunged 22.8% after the company announced a cost-cutting program after preliminary result showed a decline in operational profit. The operating result of € 109 million and the net income of € 24 million came in significantly above last year's levels, but below expectations. Puma reported a currency adjusted sales growth of 9.8% to €2,289 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. On a full-year basis, sales grew by 4.4% to €8,817 million and in line with the outlook.

United States
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions. The S&P 500 closed higher for the seventh time in the past eight sessions, reaching a new record closing high. The major averages reached new highs going into the close of trading. The Dow jumped 408.34 points or 0.9 percent to 44,565.07, the S&P 500 climbed 32.34 points or 0.5 percent to 6,118.71 and the Nasdaq rose 44.34 points or 0.2 percent at 20,051.68. The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has help stocks largely offset the sell-off see earlier this month. Optimism about a more pro-business administration under new President Donald Trump has helped offset concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Potentially adding to the positive sentiment, Trump said during remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he will 'demand that interest rates drop immediately.' Biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside as the day progressed, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.8 percent to its best closing level in almost four years. Considerable strength also emerged among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The index reached a new record closing high. Healthcare, pharmaceutical and oil producer stocks also saw notable strength, while airline stocks came under pressure amid disappointing guidance from American Airlines (AAL).

Asia
The East Asian stock markets rose on the last trading day of the week. Participants point to the positive cues from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 once again climbed to a record high. In contrast, the Tokyo stock exchange gave back some of its gains after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised interest rates to their highest level since October 2008. In addition, the inflation forecast for the fiscal year to the end of March was raised. The BoJ expects inflation excluding fresh food to reach 2.7 per cent in the fiscal year. In October, it was still forecasting 2.5 per cent. It expects 2.4 per cent in the following year and 2.0 per cent thereafter. The Nikkei-225 is still up 0.2 per cent - the yen rises with the interest rate hike on a daily basis and additionally slows down the Japanese stock market.

Bonds
Yields rose slightly on the U.S. bond market. They fell briefly during Trump's speech in Davos, in which he called for lower interest rates. However, yields subsequently recovered their losses. The yield on ten-year bonds gained 3.3 basis points to 4.64 per cent.

Analysis
JP Morgan raises Swiss Re to CHF 160 (155) – Overweight
Barclays lowers Barry Callebaut to CHF 1,630 (1,750) – Overweight
HSBC raises Delivery Hero to 45 (38) EUR/Buy – Trader

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