Apple joined the AI arms race, saying Monday it plans to bring a more personalized version of artificial intelligence to its 2.2 billion device users - including striking a deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The new AI system, which it called “Apple Intelligence,” offered a preview to what many consider to be the holy grail of AI, a voice assistant empowered with enough personal user information to meaningfully help complete an array of tasks. Apple has partnered with OpenAI, and its ChatGPT, for some new AI functions, such as answering more complex queries or composing messages, capabilities that Apple’s AI can’t handle. The announcement comes after the iPhone maker saw its market value stagnate compared with rivals that were quicker to incorporate generative artificial intelligence into their core products. “We think Apple Intelligence is going to be indispensable to the products that already play such an integral role in our lives,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said in the presentation.

The Switzerland market ended notably lower on Monday after languishing in the red right through the day's session with investors largely staying cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement and some key economic data, including a reading on U.S. consumer price inflation. The benchmark SMI ended down by 117.02 points or 0.95% at 12,137.74. The index touched a high of 12,202.93 and a low of 12,096.55 in the session. Nestle, down nearly 2.5%, was the biggest loser in the SMI index. Sandoz Group drifted down 1.7%, while UBS Group, Lindt & Spruengli, Roche Holding, Swiss Re, Richemont and Straumann Holding ended lower by 1 to 1.4%. Swiss Life Holding, SGS, Novartis, Zurich Insurance, Schindler Ps and Swatch Group also ended notably lower. Avolta, Adecco, Flughafen Zurich, Galenica Sante, Tecan Group, Belimo Holding, Barry callebaut and Georg Fischer too ended weak. Givaudan climbed 1.11%. Holcim gained 0.6%, while Vat Group, Geberit and Lonza Group edged up marginally. In economic news, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed the consumer confidence indicator in Switzerland was little changed at -38 in May from -38.1 in April.

Europe
European stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by political concerns after French President Emmanuel Macron called for snap legislative elections later in June after the European Union elections showed a broader shift towards right-wing and far-right parties. Also, investors were a bit cautious, looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, and the crucial U.S. consumer price inflation data, due later in the week. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down by 0.27%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed lower by 0.2%, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.34%, and France's CAC 40 settled 1.35% down. Switzerland's SMI lost 0.95%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. Denmark and Netherlands ended higher, while Greece, Iceland and Poland closed flat.In the UK market, Rentokil Initial, Diploma, Admiral Group, Convatec Group, Smith (DS), Diageo, Smurfit Kappa Group, Haleon, Croda International, Reckitt Benckiser, Ocado Group, Natwest Group and BT Group lost 1.6 to 3%. M&G climbed nearly 2.5%. Rolls-Royce Holdings, BP, Ashtead Group, Hargreaves Lansdown, Glencore, Standard Chartered and Pershing Square Holdings posted sharp to moderate gains. In the German market, Porsche, Bayer, RWE, Covestro, Commerzbank, BASF, Puma, Fresenius Medical Care and Deutsche Boerse lost 1 to 2.5%. Siemens Energy, Sartorius and MTU Aero Engines ended sharply higher. In the French market, Societe Generale tanked more than 7%. Edenred tumbled about 6.5%. Vinci, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Engie, Bouygues, Saint Gobain, Hermes International, AXA, LVMH, Carrefour and Veolia ended lower by 2 to 5.5%.

United States
Extending the lackluster performance seen over the two previous sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Monday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly higher. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs. The Nasdaq climbed 59.40 points or 0.4 percent to 17,192.53, the S&P 500 rose 13.80 points or 0.3 percent to 5,360.79 and the Dow edged up 69.05 points or 0.2 percent to 38868.04. Traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of several key events later this week, including the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting. The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Since the decision is largely seen as a foregone conclusion, traders are likely to pay closer attention to Fed officials' latest projections for the economy and rates. Oil service stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.9 percent. The rally by oil service stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil. Semiconductor stocks also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.4 percent advance by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Computer hardware, natural gas and retail stocks also saw some strength on the day, while telecom stocks moved notably lower, adding to the steep losses posted last Friday.

Asia
The stock markets in East Asia were mixed on Tuesday. After no trading in China, Hong Kong and Sydney on the previous day due to public holidays, the trend there is clearly negative. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index improved by 0.2 per cent to 39,131 points. The slightly positive cues from the US stock markets provided some support, as did the recent weakening of the yen, according to reports.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries saw continued weakness following the sell-off seen last Friday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.9 basis points to 4.469 percent.

Analysis
Bank of America lowers Airbus target to EUR 188 (200) – Buy
JP Morgan lowers DWS target to EUR 40 (43) – Neutral
Barclays raises Givaudan to Equalweight (Underweight) – Target CHF 4,000 (3,500)

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