TotalEnergies struck a deal to buy renewable-energy company VSB Group from Partners Group for 1.57 billion euros ($1.65 billion), expanding its presence in Germany. The French energy giant said Wednesday that the acquisition adds more than 2 gigawatt of developed onshore wind-power capacity across Europe. TotalEnergies said the purchase complements its acquisitions of German battery storage-systems company Kyon Energy in January and energy manager Quadra Energy last year. Paris-based TotalEnergies aims to become an integrated power company in Europe's largest economy. Meanwhile, it also agreed to sell half of a portfolio of 2 gigawatt solar and battery-energy storage systems in Texas to New York-based asset manager Apollo Global Management for $800 million. The portfolio consists of three solar projects with a total capacity of 1.7 gigawatt and two battery-energy storage projects with a capacity of 300 megawatt. TotalEnergies will remain operator of the assets and retain a 50% stake. As part of its strategy, TotalEnergies plans to sell up to 50% of its wholly-owned renewable-energy assets once they reach commercial operation.

The Swiss stock market lagged behind its European neighbours on Wednesday. The SMI fell by 0.4 per cent to 11,784 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 10 losers and 10 winners. A total of 18.01 million shares were traded (Tuesday: 19.46 million). The index heavyweights considered to be defensive, i.e. less sensitive to the economy, were the main drags on the index, led by Novartis, which fell by 3.1 per cent to 90.10 Swiss francs. Roche dropped by 0.3 per cent, as did Nestlé. Novartis was negatively impacted by a downgrade to Reduce by analysts at HSBC with a target price of 82 francs. Swiss Life, which had been very weak the previous day following the rather disappointing announcement of new medium-term targets, shed a further 0.6 per cent. JP Morgan downgraded the share to Underweight and HSBC to Reduce. The biggest winners in the SMI in the absence of any news were Logitech (+2.4 per cent) ahead of ABB (+1.7 per cent). Partners Group climbed 0.5 per cent. The sale of VSB Group, specialising in green energy, to Totalenergies for EUR 1.57 billion provided a tailwind.

Europe
The European stock markets rose on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 0.4% at 517.5 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and SBF 120 gained 0.7% each. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt climbed 1.1%. By contrast, the FTSE 100 in London fell by 0.3%, as Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), warned that there was still some way to go to tame inflation. Valneva (+6% at 1.93 euros) announced on Wednesday the publication of an article in the prestigious medical journal The British Medical Journal (BMJ), showing that the impact of chikungunya is much greater than previously estimated and that the costs associated with this disease are substantial. Cable manufacturer Nexans (+2.5%) confirmed on Wednesday that it had won what it described as a ‘major’ contract from ScottishPower Renewables, a subsidiary of Spain's Iberdrola, in the southern North Sea. The amount of the contract was not disclosed. Casino (+1.8%) reported on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement to sell a portfolio of property assets to the Les Mousquetaires group (Intermarché). The sale price of €77 million is due to be received in the first half of 2025, the retailer said in a press release. Total Energy (-0.4%) signed an agreement on Wednesday with Partners Group to buy the European wind and solar developer VSB Group from the Swiss asset manager for €1.57 billion. TotalEnergies also revealed that it had sold 50% of a portfolio of assets in the United States for 800 million dollars.

United States
All three major U.S. stock indexes rose to records Wednesday after a batch of better-than-expected tech earnings bolstered investor confidence. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 6086.49, the Dow rose 0.7% to 45014.04, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.3% to 19735.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 45000 for the first time, a milestone that appeared implausible a little more than two years ago. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logged all-time highs on the same day for the seventh time this year. Some investors view the broad-based gains as a sign that the bull market is healthy and still has room to run. Technology stocks led the gains. Shares of Salesforce, Okta, chip maker Marvell Technology and data-storage provider Pure Storage soared after each reported results that were ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. Some cited strong AI demand. On the economic front, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the economy looks better now than it did when the central bank began cutting interest rates in September, which means the Fed can take a more cautious approach to reducing borrowing costs. U.S. businesses created 146,000 new jobs in November, paycheck company ADP said. The payroll jobs number indicated a stable U.S. labor market but was below Wall Street’s forecast. U.S. services activity also came below economists’ expectations, signaling weaker business activity, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday. U.S. market exuberance comes despite mounting political tensions overseas. Bitcoin price moved about 3.4% higher after President-elect Donald Trump picked conservative lawyer Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. The largest cryptocurrency by market value traded at $98,972 as of 4 p.m. ET.

Asia
Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday. On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei index rose by 0.4 per cent to 39,427 points. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped significantly by 1.0 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite on the Chinese mainland advanced by 0.2 per cent. On the South Korean stock exchange, the political turbulence of the past few days continues to affect the stock market. The Kospi declined by 0.6 per cent after significant losses the previous day. Market participants point to concerns about political unrest and the possible impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields s gave up some earlier gains after the weaker-than-expected reading on U.S. services sector activity. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped 4 basis points to 4.186%. The 2-year Treasury note yield shed 4 basis points to 4.169%. The next Fed meeting will take place on December 17 and 18. Investors see a roughly three-quarters chance the Fed cuts interest rates this month, according to CME Group data.

Analysis
JPM downgrades Swiss Life to Underw. (Neutral)/Target CHF 670 (720)
HSBC downgrades Novartis to Reduce/Target CHF 82 - Trader
Vontobel lifts Helvetia to Buy (Hold) - Target CHF 180 (143)

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