Holcim is holding a capital market day to provide information about its future after the planned spin-off of its US business, known as ‘Amrize’. Holcim wants to create added value for its shareholders with its ‘NextGen Growth 2030’ strategy. For example, targeted investments in the most attractive markets are planned, Holcim announced on Friday in the run-up to the event. And the share of sales in the high value-added ‘Building Solutions’ segment, i.e. with building systems, concrete and flooring, is to be increased to half of Group turnover by 2030. By that year, Holcim aims to increase sales in local currencies by an average of 3 to 5 percent annually. According to the management's plans, operating profit, or ‘recurring EBIT’, is set to grow even more strongly by an average of 6 to 10 per cent. This calculation excludes large acquisitions, i.e. deals with an annual turnover of more than CHF 200 million. According to Holcim, ‘value-enhancing’ transactions are also in the pipeline. At the same time, the Group plans to invest in organic growth and pursue an ‘attractive and progressive’ dividend policy. According to Holcim, the necessary funds are available: A total of around CHF 18 to 22 billion would be available for capital allocation by 2030. And surplus capital will be used for major strategic acquisitions and opportunistic share buybacks.

The Swiss stock market concluded Thursday in negative territory. The mood was spoilt by US President Donald Trump's tariff policy. On 2 April, the big all-round strike on tariffs in the USA is set to follow. The Swiss stock exchange was also depressed by visually high losses at Roche (-2.8 per cent) - due to the dividend discount. The SMI fell 0.7 per cent to 12,867 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were twelve losers and eight winners. A total of 25.54 (previously: 19.24) million shares were traded. UBS was extremely weak with a loss of 4.1 per cent. Bank of America had downgraded the shares of the major bank to ‘underperform’ and also significantly reduced the price target. Goldman Sachs also expressed a negative view. At Nestlé (+0.7 per cent), reports about negotiations on the future of the water business gave rise to share price fantasy. Alcon acquires a majority stake in Aurion Biotech, a company specialising in cell therapies for eye diseases. The Alcon share price rose by 5.2 per cent. Adecco (+0.5%) announced the formation of a new company in cooperation with Salesforce, without disclosing any financial details. In addition to Roche, Sika (-2.9%), Schindler (-4.3%) and Implenia (-3.7%) also traded ex-dividend.

Europe
The European stock markets fell back on Thursday as US President Donald Trump plans to impose new 25% tariffs on all automobiles imported into the United States from 3 April. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to 546.3 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 both lost 0.5%. The DAX 40 gave up 0.7% in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 shed 0.3% in London. AUTOMOTIVE: The overwhelming majority of European carmakers and automotive suppliers posted sharp declines on the stock market, in the wake of the tariffs announced on Wednesday evening by US President Donald Trump. In Paris, Stellantis fell by 4.3%, while BMW shares lost 2.6% in Frankfurt, where Volkswagen and Mercedes slipped by 1.5% and 2.7% respectively. Bucking the trend, Ferrari rose by 1.8%. The Italian luxury carmaker confirmed that it was maintaining its annual forecasts despite the tariffs imposed by Trump. Analysts at Wedbush calculated that the average price for American customers would rise by between $5,000 and $10,000 as a result of the tariffs. For carmakers, this would mean a ‘hurricane-like headwind’.

United States
Stock indexes fell for a second day after the U.S. unveiled new tariffs on automakers. The S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq shed 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% lower. President Trump said Wednesday he would slap 25% tariffs on automotive imports to the U.S. General Motors, Stellantis, and other automakers dropped sharply on Thursday. Stocks of international rivals such as BMW, Toyota and Hyundai that export to the U.S. also came under pressure. Foreign markets are more exposed to auto pain than the U.S., and some automakers have more to lose than others. Overnight, the U.S. president threatened yet more tariffs. In a social-media post, he warned that if the European Union and Canada worked together to harm the U.S. economically, they would face levies that were “far larger than currently planned.” Gold prices rose 1.3% to a fresh record. GameStop shares sank 22%. The company said it plans to privately offer $1.3 billion of convertible senior notes and will use some of the proceeds to buy bitcoin. Dollar Tree shares jumped 11%. The retailer said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Family Dollar business. Jefferies Financial Group crashed by 9.9 per cent following weak business figures. TD Synnex (-14.3 per cent) also disappointed with its figures. Concentrix, on the other hand, surprised positively with its business figures and outlook with its share price shooting up by 42.4 per cent.

Asia
The U.S. punitive tariffs remain a key topic on the stock markets in East Asia on Friday. The markets in Tokyo and Seoul in particular fell sharply, once again led by the shares of car manufacturers there. The Nikkei 225 index dropped by 2.4 per cent to 36,902 points. Toyota lost 4.7 per cent, Honda 4.8 per cent and Nissan 3.2 per cent. In Seoul, Hyundai Motor and Kia both declined by around 3 per cent. The leading Kospi index slipped by 2.2 per cent. In addition to car stocks, shares in the chip segment were also sold off. Investors fear that this sector will also be affected by punitive tariffs and trade restrictions. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined by 1.7 per cent. SK Hynix lost 3.6 per cent. The Composite Index in Shanghai is down 0.7 per cent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong decreased by 1.1 per cent.

Bonds
U.S. government debt yields diverged for the Thursday trading session. The 10-year Treasury note yield edged up 3 basis points (0.03 percentage points) to 4.37%. The 2-year Treasury note yield shed 1 basis point to 3.99%.

Analysis
Goldman Sachs lowers UBS target to 36 (44.50) CHF/Buy - Traders
Price target Kuehne+Nagel: Bernstein SG cuts to CHF 230 (240) - Market Perform
Target price Clariant: JP Morgan lowers to CHF 10 (14) - Neutral

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