AIG today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its global individual personal travel insurance and assistance business to Zurich Insurance Group for $600 million in cash plus additional earn-out consideration. The agreement includes the Travel Guard business and its servicing capabilities, excluding Japan and our AIG joint venture arrangement in India. Travel coverages offered through AIG's Accident & Health business are also excluded from this agreement. The sale is expected to close by the end of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The Swiss market ended weak on Tuesday, in line with markets across Europe, with investors awaiting some key economic data from the U.S. for more clues about the outlook for Federal Reserve's interest rate moves. The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 70.98 points or 0.58% at 12,086.31. The index touched a low of 12,054.76. UBS Group drifted down by about 3.2%. The lender has agreed to sell a 36.01% stake in Credit Suisse's money-losing Chinese venture to Beijing-backed Assets Management Co. for $91.4 million, in a deal valuing the venture at $253 million. Schindler Ps ended down 3.85%. Lindt & Spruengli, Partners Group and Geberit lost 1.74%, 1.62% and 1.28%, respectively. ABB, Alcon, Nestle, Roche Holding, Lonza Group, Swatch Group, Logitech International, Holcim, Sonova and Swiss Re ended lower by 0.5 to 1%. Richemont climbed about 2.75%. Bernard Arnault, Europe's richest man and the chairman of high fashion to champagne group LVMH MC, has reportedly bought a stake in Richemont. Straumann Holding and SIG Group both advanced nearly 1%. Santoz Group and SGS posted modest gains.

Europe
European stocks closed on a weak note on Tuesday as investors closely followed the political scene and digested some corporate news from the region, besides looking ahead to U.S. consumer income & spending data for clues about the outlook for Federal Reserve's monetary policy moves. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a victory for the far left or the far right in this month's snap election could spark 'civil war.' Also, in a 'Letter to the French' published on Monday, Macron has vowed to remain in office until May 2027 regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7. Elsewhere, the United Kingdom is heading to the polls on July 4 and investors are bracing for the most distorted election result in British history. On a light day on the economic front, official data showed Spain's GDP grew 0.8% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, up from an initial 0.7% reading released in April. The pan European Stoxx ended down by 0.23%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.41% and Germany's DAX lost 0.81%. France's CAC 40 and Switzerland's SMI both drifted down 0.58%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye ended weak. Denmark and Poland closed higher, while Netherlands ended flat. In the UK market, Burberry Group and Convatec Group ended lower by 4.5% and 4.1%, respectively. BT Group, Rightmove, Marks & Spencer, WPP, Weir Group, Ashtead Group, Melrose Industries, Vodafone Group, JD Sports Fashion, IMI and Howden Joinery closed lower by 2 to 3.5%. Admiral Group, Easyjet, Smith (DS) and Sage Group gained 1.3 to 2.25%. Anglo American Plc, National Grid, AstraZeneca and Whitbread also closed higher. In the German market, Merck lost nearly 6% after the diversified group discontinued a late-stage trial for a cancer drug. MTU Aero Engines, Sartorius, Continental, Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care, Puma, HeidelbergCement, Brenntag, Qiagen, Deutsche Bank and Adidas ended sharply lower.

United States
A bounce in Nvidia shares pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite higher, snapping a three-session streak of declines. The Nasdaq added 1.3%. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8%. The moves Tuesday continued a topsy-turvy stretch for major indexes, in which the Nasdaq and blue-chip Dow have headed in opposite directions. Such divergence isn’t unheard of, but it signals that investors are shuffling their bets. The two indexes have moved in different directions in eight out of the past 10 trading days, something that hasn’t happened since a 10-day stretch ending in April 1995, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Driving much of the action: Nvidia, which isn’t included in the Dow. The artificial-intelligence chip-making giant briefly became the world’s most valuable listed company last week, then tumbled into correction territory to kick off the week. Tuesday, Nvidia shares bounced 6.8% after shedding around $430 billion in market cap within just days. It isn’t just the major indexes moving in different directions. Individual shares within the S&P 500 have been sharply diverging, driving correlation among stocks in the index to some of the lowest levels of the past two decades, according to Bank of America. In corporate news, Carnival reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 11 cents a share, surprising analysts who had expected a small loss. The cruise company’s stock jumped 8.7%, its sixth session of gains. Airbus shares sank 9.4% after the plane maker said that new production challenges would prevent it from hitting profit targets. The European company told investors late Monday that it would miss this year’s annual delivery target after disclosing new delays and hiccups in its supply chain.

Asia
Stock markets in East Asia and Australia were mixed on Wednesday, after US technology stocks had started to recover the previous day. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo continues to rise, climbing 1.3 per cent to 39,685 points and is the clear leader.

Bonds
In other assets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.237% from 4.248% on Monday. Brent crude futures lost 1.2% to $85.01 a barrel, the biggest one-day decline since early June.

Analysis
Deutsche Bank lowers SIG to CHF 21 (23) – Sell
Deutsche Bank lowers Airbus to Hold (Buy) – 155 (186) EUR
Deutsche Bank lowers K+S to EUR 12 (13.50) – Hold

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