Klarna Group Plc has filed for a U.S. initial public offering at a weak moment for company debuts, though the fintech player thinks it can offer investors more than just its buy-now-pay-later products. Klarna said it was profitable in 2024, with its per-share net profit of 1 cent last year contrasting with a per-share net loss of 69 cents a share in 2023. The company said its revenue last year rose to $2.8 billion, from $2.3 billion. It ended 2024 with $3.2 billion in cash and equivalents, according to a late Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company did not disclose the number of shares it seeks to sell on the market nor their expected price range. “We believe that our credit underwriting capabilities, enabled by our proprietary data from approximately 2.9 million transactions made on average per day on our network from 93 million active Klarna consumers in 2024, differentiate us from other networks,” the company said.

After struggling for direction till more than a couple of hours past noon, Swiss stocks found some support on Friday to end the day's session on a firm note. Worries about tariff war and its impact on global economic growth weighed on sentiment, while optimism about a ceasefire in Ukraine helped a bit in lifting the mood. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 80.62 points or 0.63% at 12,916/81, after scaling a high of 12,948.27. Adecco rallied 5.66%. Partners Group gained 3.5%. UBS Group, Straumann Holding, Richemont and Holcim closed higher by 2 to 2.5%. Sika, Swatch Group, ABB, Lonza Group, Alcon and Julius Baer gained 1.1 to 1.9%, and Sandoz Group closed nearly 1% up. Roche Holding, SIG Group, Kuehne + Nagel, Lindt & Spruengli, Swiss Re and Schindler Ps also closed on positive note. Givaudan ended down 2.1% after Baader Helvea lowered the stock's price targer a bit. Swiss Life Holding ended lower by about 2.1% after futures earnings outlook raised concerns. The company reported a net profit of CHF 629 million for the second-half of 2024, about 1% above market forecasts. Profit from operations reached CHF 900 million, exceeding estimates by roughly 3%. Sonova closed 1.55% down, and SGS ended down 1.04%. Novartis and Swisscom closed modestly lower.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Friday on optimism about reforms in Germany's debt brake rule after reports said Friedrich Merz, who is likely to be sworn in as the country's next chancellor, had got the support from the Greens party to increase public borrowing that will help rise defense spending. Slight optimism about a ceasefire in Ukraine contributed as well to the positive sentiment in the region. Bank, defense and mining stocks were among the prominent gainers in the session. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.14%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.05%, Germany's DAX surged 1.86% and France's CAC 40 closed up 1.13%, while Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.63%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Iceland edged up marginally. In the UK market, Melrose Industries climbed nearly 6.5%. BAE Systems rallied about 4.2%. Games Workshop, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Scottish Mortgage, EasyJet, BP, Glencore, Airtel Africa, Anglo American Plc, IAG, RightMove, Antofagasta, Polar Capital Technology, Prudential, Ashtead Group, Barclays Group and Rentokil Initial gained 2 to 3.5%. Tesco tumbled nearly 9%. Sainsbury (J) tumbled 7.77%. Marks & Spencer declined 5.2%. WPP, Spirax Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Convatec Group lost 1 to 2.5%. In the German market, Rheinmetall jumped 6.6%. Heidelberg Materials gained about 4.3%. Deutsche Bank, MTU Aero Engines, Fresenius Medical Care, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Zalando, BASF, SAP, Deutsche Boerse, Continental and Deutsche Post gained 2 to 3.5%. Siemens and Infineon both climbed nearly 2%. Siemens Healthineers, Bayer, Adidas, Fresenius, Daimler Truck Holding, Munich RE and Brenntag also closed notably higher.

United States
Following the sell-off seen over the course of Thursday's session, stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside during trading on Friday. The major averages all moved sharply higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain. The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close of trading. The Nasdaq soared 451.07 points or 2.6 percent to 17,754.09, the S&P 500 surged 117.42 points or 2.1 percent to 5,638.94 and the Dow jumped 674.62 points or 1.7 percent to 41,488.19. Despite the significant rebound on the day, the major averages still posted steep losses for the week. The Dow plunged by 3.1 percent, while Nasdaq and the S&P 500 tumbled by 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. The rally on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop seen on Thursday, which dragged the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in six months. Steel stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, resulting in a 4.0 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring by 3.5 percent after ending the previous session at a nearly four-month closing low. Brokerage stocks also saw significant strength, as reflected by the 3.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index. Semiconductor, software and banking stocks also showed notable moves to the upside amid a broad based rally on Wall Street.

Asia
Following the recovery rally on Wall Street on Friday, the start of the week on Monday also saw an upward trend in East Asia. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 rose by 1.3 per cent to 37,517 points, also supported by the slightly weaker yen. The Kospi in Seoul even improved by 1.6 per cent and the HSI in Hong Kong rose by 1.0 per cent. The Shanghai Composite, on the other hand, rose by only 0.1 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney has already ended trading with a gain of 0.8 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries gave back ground after turning higher over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.4 basis points to 4.308 percent.

Analysis
UBS lowers the Givaudan target to CHF 4,280 (4,310) – Neutral
UBS lowers Galenica to Neutral (Buy) – Target CHF 83 (83.50)
UBS lowers Hugo Boss to Neutral (Buy)/target EUR 38 (49) – Trader

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