U.S. Steel’s chief executive said the company would close steel mills if its planned sale to Nippon Steel collapses, as the Biden administration is moving closer to blocking the deal. CEO David Burritt said the nearly $3 billion that Japan-based Nippon Steel has pledged to invest in the Pittsburgh company’s older mills is critical to keeping them competitive and maintaining workers’ jobs. “We wouldn’t do that if the deal falls through,” Burritt said in an interview. “I don’t have the money.” President Biden, who earlier this year said that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated, is planning to block the deal, though the final signoff hasn’t yet happened, according to a person familiar with the matter. Burritt’s dour outlook for the storied steelmaker came after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris took the same position Monday. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and several members of Congress have similarly lined up against the $14.1 billion deal, which the United Steelworkers union also opposes.

The Switzerland market ended sharply lower on Wednesday, tracking weakness in global markets amid rising concerns about economic slowdown in the U.S. and China. The benchmark SMI ended down 172.02 points or 1.39% at 12,176.17. The index touched a low of 12,133.05 in the session. Richemont dropped 5.8%. Logitech International and Swatch Group lost 4.17% and 3.63%, respectively. VAT Group ended down 2.83%. ABB, Schindler Ps, Nestle, Geberit, Straumann Holding, Alcon, UBS Group, Holcim, Sika, Lindt & Spruengli and Julius Baer lost 1.2 to 2.2%. Partners Group, Swiss Life Holding, Sandoz Group, SIG Group, Roche GS, Swiss Re and Lonza Group also ended notably lower. SGS and Givaduan both ended down 1%.

Europe
European stocks closed lower on Wednesday on weak global cues amid concerns about the outlook for growth after data showed continued contraction in U.S. factory activity, and cooling labor market. A downward revision in Eurozone composite PMI weighed as well. Investors fretted about weakening Chinese growth as well. Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in August for the fifth consecutive month and the 21st time in the last 22 months, raising concerns the world's largest economy is headed for recession. Elsewhere, a private survey revealed that growth in China's services sector activity slowed in August despite the summer travel peak. On the positive side, the euro area's private sector economic growth accelerated in August, thanks to a faster increase in services activity. HCOB's composite Purchasing Managers' Index for countries in the currency union, compiled by S&P Global, improved to 51.0 in August from July's 50. Eurozone producer prices increased for the second straight month in July driven by higher energy prices, data from Eurostat showed. Producer prices posted a monthly growth of 0.8% after a 0.6% gain. This was the second consecutive rise. Elsewhere, the U.K. service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in four months, final survey data from S&P Global showed. The corresponding index rose to 53.7 in August from 52.5 in the previous month. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.97%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.35%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.83% and 0.98%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI dropped 1.39%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate losses. Belgium, Portugal and Russia ended higher, while Norway closed flat.

United States
Worries about a softening labor market pushed the S&P 500 lower for a second consecutive day ahead of a key jobs report. The broad index dipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38 points, or 0.1%. Wednesday's moves came after the indexes notched their worst session since the global market rout in early August. Data out Tuesday highlighting ongoing manufacturing weakness rekindled concerns about the health of the economy. Adding to slowdown fears, the Labor Department on Wednesday said U.S. job openings fell in July to 7.7 million. That was a bigger decline than economists expected and marked the lowest level since 2021. Investors are on edge ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report, which could influence the pace of the Federal Reserve's expected rate cuts-and signal whether the economy is closer to a recession or a soft landing. Among individual stocks, Nvidia shares fell 1.7%, weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The AI darling on Tuesday shed nearly $280 billion in market value, a record drop for a U.S. company. Defensive stocks-which investors tend to reach for when concerned about the economy-were the relative outperformers in the market Wednesday. The S&P 500's utilities sector gained about 0.8% and consumer staples rose 0.5%. Verizon is in advanced talks to acquire Frontier Communications in a deal that would bolster the company’s fiber network to compete with rivals including AT&T, according to people familiar with the matter. An announcement could come this week, granted the talks don’t hit any last-minute snags, the people said. A deal would be sizable, given Frontier’s market value of over $7 billion. The company, cobbled together by several deals over the years, provides broadband connections to about three million locations across 25 states.

Asia
The East Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Thursday, mostly within narrow limits. Sydney tends to hold up well. Most of the action is in Tokyo. The slide continues there after the previous day's 4.2 per cent slump. The Nikkei-225 lost 1.0 per cent to 36,680 points

Bonds
The U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields declined to 3.768%, with losses accelerating after the JOLTS jobs data. That marked the lowest level since July 2023.

Analysis
Citi raises ING to EUR 19.80 (19.10) – Buy
Barclays raises Munich Re to EUR 520 (503)/Overweight – Trader
Barclays lowers Swiss Re to 110 (113) CHF/Equalweight – Trader

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