The European Union said that Apple’s decision to let third-party mobile wallet and payment services use the technology behind its Apple Pay app fully addressed its antitrust concerns, ending a long-running probe that could have seen the iPhone maker hit with a hefty fine. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it had made a series of commitments by Apple legally binding under the bloc’s antitrust rules, meaning that Apple now must comply with them by July 25. European officials were concerned that the tech giant was stifling competition by keeping rivals out of its payments ecosystem. “From now on, competitors will be able to effectively compete with Apple Pay for mobile payments with the iPhone in shops,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief. “Consumers will have a wider range of safe and innovative mobile wallets to choose from.” In response to the EU’s concerns, Apple said earlier this year that it would allow other companies’ apps to make contactless payments on iPhones and other devices that use its iOS operating system.

The Switzerland market ended on a strong note on Thursday, in line with markets across Europe, on rising hopes about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September after data showed a drop in U.S. consumer price inflation. The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 104.59 points or 0.86% at 12,255.78. The index touched a high of 12,292.48. Sandoz Group climbed nearly 3.5%. Straumann Holding gained almost 3%. Julius Baer, Geberit and Lonza Group ended higher by 2 to 2.5%. Alcon gained nearly 2%. Holcim, Richemont, Sonovoa, Sika, Roche Holding and Novartis ended higher by 1 to 1.5%. Swatch Group, Schindler Ps, UBS Group, Givaudan and Partners Group also closed higher. Lindt & Spruengli ended more than 3% down. VAT Group and SIG Group closed lower by 1.31% and 1.15%, respectively. Barry Callebaut shares tanked nearly 12%, after the company warned of challenges ahead due to supply turbulence and cocoa-related price increases. The company reported a year-over-year rise in sales revenue to 7.32 billion francs from 6.29 billion francs in the nine months ended May 31. The Labor Department said U.S. consumer price index slipped by 0.1% in June after coming in unchanged in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to inch up by 0.1%.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Thursday after data showing a drop in U.S. consumer price inflation in the month of June raised expectation of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. Encouraging economic data from Germany and the U.K. contributed as well to the positive mood in the European markets. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.6%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.36%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.69% and 0.71%, respectively. In the UK market, Severn Trent gained 3.75% after reporting a strong start to the year. RightMove and EasyJet climbed 3.5% and 3.2%, respectively. Schrodders, Persimmon, Fresnillo, Sainsbury (J), United Utilities, Kingfisher, Ashtead Group, JD Sports Fashion, Segro, IMI, Marks & Spencer and Barratt Developments gained 2 to 3%. Shares of water company Pennon soared 11% after naming an insider as its new CFO. Vodafone Group, Relx and DCC lost 1.4 to 1.7%. Admiral Group, Darktrace, BP and M&G also ended weak. In the German market, Sartorius rallied 5%. RWE, Vonovia, Merck, Siemens Healthineers, Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens Energy, Adidas, Bayer, HeidelbergCement, E.ON, BMW, Rheinmetall, Qiagen, Siemens and BASF gained 1 to 3%. In the French market, Vivendi climbed about 5.5%. Saint Gobain, Teleperformance, Legrrand, Kering, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, Edenred, Essilor, Hermes International, Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific, Renault, ArcelorMittal and Dassault Systemes gained 1 to 3%.

United States
Stocks showed a substantial downturn over the course of the trading session on Thursday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back sharply after reaching new record intraday highs in early trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss on the day, plunging 364.04 points or 2.0 percent to 18,283.41, while the S&P 500 slumped 49.37 points or 0.9 percent to 5,584.54. The narrower Dow, on the other hand, spent most of the day lingering near the unchanged line before closing up 32.39 points or 0.1 percent at 39,753.85. While optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to early strength on Wall Street, buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading. Traders may have seen the increased confidence in a September rate cut as already priced into the markets following Wednesday's rally. The Labor Department said its consumer price index slipped by 0.1 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to inch up by 0.1 percent. The unexpected dip by consumer prices came as another steep drop by gasoline prices more than offset a continued increase in shelter costs. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices crept up by 0.1 percent in June after rising by 0.2 percent in May. Core prices were expected to increase by another 0.2 percent. Semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, giving back ground following recent strength in the sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged by 3.5 percent, pulling back off the record closing high set on Wednesday. Software and computer hardware stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. On the other hand, housing stocks saw substantial strength amid optimism about lower interest rates, resulting in a 5.7 percent spike by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Asia
At the end of the week, there was no uniform trend on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell particularly sharply by 2.2 per cent to 41,279 points. On Thursday, the index had surpassed the 42,000 point mark for the first time and closed at a record high.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher in reaction to the consumer price inflation data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 8.7 basis points to 4.193 percent.

Analysis
JP Morgan raises Rheinmetall target to EUR 680 (600) – Overweight
UBS lowers CRH target to 7,500 (7,640) GBp – Buy
Barclays lowers Porsche AG target to EUR 80 (100) – Equalweight

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