ASML Holding warned of a slower-than-expected recovery for some areas of the semiconductor industry after orders came in below analysts’ expectations as chip makers held back spending on key production equipment. The Dutch company, which supplies semiconductor-making machinery to chip makers, booked 2.63 billion euros, equivalent to $2.87 billion, in orders in the third quarter, up from 2.60 billion euros a year earlier but well below analysts’ forecast of 5.59 billion euros, according to consensus estimates by Visible Alpha. “While there continue to be strong developments and upside potential in AI, other market segments are taking longer to recover,” Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said in a news release. “It now appears the recovery is more gradual than previously expected. This is expected to continue in 2025, which is leading to customer cautiousness.” The company expects between 30 billion and 35 billion euros in sales next year, below a previous forecast of up to 40 billion euros. ASML’s announcement came a day earlier than its scheduled release because of a technical error, the company said. ASML’s comments weighed on global chip stocks including Nvidia and Intel. ASML’s own shares in Amsterdam closed more than 15% lower on Tuesday.

The Swiss market ended on a bright note on Monday with stocks holding early gains thanks to sustained buying right through the day's session. The SMI closed up 105.04 points or 0.86% at 12,259.23, after scaling a low of 12,176.38 and a high of 12,266.58 intraday. VAT Group gained a little over 3% and Lonza Group ended almost 3% up. Logitech International climbed 2.62% and UBS Group ended up 2.05%. Givaudan ended higher by 1.67%, while Swiss Re, ABB and Sandoz Group gained 1.3 to 1.5%. SGS, Partners Group, Holcim, Kuehne + Nagel, Sonova, Alcon and Novartis ended up 0.8 to 1.2%. Sika, Swiss Life Holding, Swisscom, Schindler Ps, Julius Baer, Straumann Holding, Zurich Insurance Group and Geberit also closed on a firm note. Swatch Group ended nearly 2.5% down. SIG Group closed down 0.93% and Richemont ended 0.42% down. Shares of industrial fastening and assembly technology company Bossard plunged more than 8% following a year-over-year drop in third-quarter group net sales to 240.4 million francs from 249.

Europe
European stocks closed lower on Tuesday, weighed down by losses in the energy sector as oil prices tumbled. Investors also digested a slew of economic data from the region, and looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement due later in the week. Middle East tensions weighed as well on sentiment. The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.8%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.52%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.11%, and France's CAC 40 declined 1.05%, while Switzerland's SMI closed down 0.33%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden ended weak. Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher. In the UK market, Antofagasta, Glencore, BP, Spirax Group, Croda International, Entain, Anglo American Plc, Shell, Mondi and Prudential ended down 3 to 5%. Scottish Mortgage, Standard Chartered, Melrose Industries, Rio Tinto, Halma, ICP, Centrica, Rentokil Initial and HSBC Holdings also ended notably lower. IAG climbed more than 4%. In the German market, Siemens Energy dropped about 4%. Deutsche Bank ended down 2.6% after reports of the sale of some 16 million shares in the German bank priced at 16.01 euros ($17.43) per share. Puma rallied more than 5% and MTU Aero Engines gained nearly 5%. In the French market, TotalEnergies ended down 4.8%. The oil major warned that its third-quarter downstream results are expected to decline sharply due to lower refining margins in Europe and elsewhere.

United States
After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks came under considerable selling pressure over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all moved notably lower following the strong gains posted during Monday's session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 187.10 points or 1.0 percent to 18,315.59, the Dow slid 324.80 points or 0.8 percent to 42,740.42 and the S&P 500 fell 44.59 points or 0.8 percent to 5,815.26. A steep drop by shares of UnitedHealth weighed on the Dow, as the health insurance giant plunged by 8.1 percent. The nosedive by UnitedHealth came after the company reported third quarter results that beat expectations but lowered the top end of its full-year earnings guidance. Goldman Sachs was flat after its third-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates. Citigroup showed notable move to the downside despite reporting better than expected third quarter results. Meanwhile, shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance skyrocketed by 15.8 percent after the drugstore chain reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates and announced plans to close roughly 1,200 stores over the next three years. Trump Media & Technology Group shares end sharply lower on the stock's greatest-ever daily volume since the completion of its SPAC merger, after trading was paused for five minutes earlier in the day due to volatility. Donald Trump's social media company, which operates the Truth Social platform, finishes down 10% after earlier climbing 13% at the intraday high, and after gaining 18% on Monday.

Asia
The stock markets in East Asia and Australia were mixed on Wednesday. While the Chinese stock exchanges recorded slight gains, the Tokyo trading centre fell sharply. As on Wall Street, semiconductor stocks in Asia are also under selling pressure after the Dutch semiconductor supplier ASML warned of weaker revenues in 2025. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell sharply by 1.8 per cent, weighed down by heavy losses in chip stocks. Lasertec fell by 13.4 per cent and Tokyo Electron by 9.6 per cent.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries extended the modest rebound seen during last Friday's session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 6.0 basis points to 4.038 percent.

Analysis
Barclays raises Givaudan target to CHF 4,200 (4,070) / Equalweight – Trader
UBS lowers Inficon target to 1,445 (1,480) CHF/Buy – Trader
UBS lowers VAT target to CHF 430 (460)/Neutral – Trader

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