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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in Apple by selling 20 million shares in the second quarter while adding UnitedHealth Group to its portfolio. Despite the sale, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest holding. Meanwhile, Swiss stocks saw gains, with the SMI index rising by 0.61%, although economic growth slowed to 0.1% in Q2 2025. European markets had mixed results, with France’s CAC 40 rising and Germany’s DAX slightly declining. UK stock Standard Chartered plummeted over 7% due to legal controversies. In the US, the Dow saw a small gain, whereas the Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell amid mixed economic data affecting market sentiment. Asian markets began the week positively, with Nikkei hitting a record high. In the US bond market, treasury yields increased, reflecting a continuation of last session’s downward price movement.
Fra Swissquote:
Topic of the day
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Apple during the second quarter, further paring its position in the iPhone maker, while adding UnitedHealth Group to its portfolio. The Omaha, Neb., company disclosed its stockholdings in a regulatory filing. Berkshire sold 20 million shares of Apple in the June quarter, marking the first time it reduced its stake in the consumer-electronics giant since last year. Apple remains the company’s largest holding, and Buffett praised its chief executive officer at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May. Apple shares recently traded at about 30 times its projected earnings over the next 12 months, according to FactSet. The stock has slipped 7% this year. UnitedHealth, once a healthcare stalwart, has struggled in the midst of a litany of challenges, including a pullback in Medicare funding, the shooting death of a top executive, and controversies over its business practices.
Swiss stocks
The Switzerland market ended on a firm note on Friday with stocks from across several sectors gaining ground on sustained buying support. The benchmark SMI, which moved in a tight range between 12,052.52 and 12,095.09, closed up 72.72 points or 0.61% at 12,074.33. Roche Holding climbed 2.36%. Alcon gained 1.58%, while Julius Baer and Sandoz Group both gained about 1.2%. Novartis climbed nearly 1%. Swiss Re, Lonza Group, UBS Group, Straumann Holding, Amrize, Nestle and Sonova posted modest gains. VAT Group ended nearly 3% down, and Schindler Ps closed lower by 1.44%. SGS lost nearly 1%, while Swisscom, Logitech International, Kuehne + Nagel, Richemont and ABB drifted down 0.4 to 0.7%. In economic news, data from State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed Switzerland’s economy grew by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2025, slowing from an upwardly revised 0.8% expansion in the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate. This marked the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2024.
International markets
Europe
European stocks closed on a mixed note on Friday with investors largely staying cautious, awaiting the meeting of the Presidents of the U.S. and Russia, and continuing to assess Trump administration’s tariff moves and their impact on global economic growth. The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.06%. Germany’s DAX slid 0.07%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.42% and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.67%. Switzerland’s SMI gained 0.61%. The CAC 40 gained about 2.2% in the week, while the DAX climbed nearly 1%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Poland ended weak. In the UK market, Anglo American Plc gained about 2.3%. Glencore and BP, both gained about 1.8%. Games Workshop, Antofagasta, Fresnillo, WPP, IAG, EasyJet, Croda International and Intercontinental Hotels Group climbed 0.7 to 1.3%. Standard Chartered plunged more than 7% following US Republican Elise Stefanik urging Florida AG Pam Bondi to investigate the bank for ‘illicit payments to known terrorists.’ Rolls-Royce Holdings, 3i Group, Airtel Africa, RightMove, Natwest Group and HSBC Holdings lost 1.6 to 2.5%. In the German market, Bayer and BMW gained 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. Merck, Mercedes-Benz, RWE, Beiersdorf, Brenntag, BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens Healthineers and Volkswagen also closed higher. Infineon Technologies found some support after completing the acquisition of Marvell Technology Inc.’s Automotive Ethernet business. Siemens Energy fell about 3%. Rheinmetall, Zalando, E.ON, SAP, Puma, Adidas and Vonovia closed lower by 0.8 to 1.7%. In the French market, Teleperformance rallied more than 4%. Pernod Ricard, TotalEnergies, Airbus, Sanofi, EssilorLuxottica, Unibail Rodamco, Renault, Engie, AXA, Vinci, Stellantis, Vivendi, L’Oreal, Michelin and Veolia Environment gained 1 to 1.8%. Publicis Groupe, Thales, Hermes International, Schneider Electric and Safran closed weak.
United States
Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moved to the downside, although the narrower Dow managed to post a modest gain. While the Dow inched up 34.86 points or 0.1 percent to 44,946.12, the S&P 500 fell 18.74 points or 0.3 percent to 6,449.80 and the Nasdaq slid 87.69 points or 0.4 percent to 21,622.98. Despite the lower close on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced by 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, for the week. The Dow also posted a strong weekly gain of 1.7 percent. The weakness in the broader markets came following the release of mixed batch of U.S. economic data, which has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and interest rates. While the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales increased in line with economist estimates in July, the University of Michigan released a separate report showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in August. The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in June. Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 2.3 percent. Considerable weakness was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent slump by the KBW Bank Index. Oil service and steel stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks showed strong moves to the upside.
Asia
Asian stock markets are mostly up at the start of the week. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 continues its recent record run, rising again to an all-time high. The index gains 0.9 percent to 43,789 points. Shanghai Composite posted the most significant gain, rising 1.2 percent. Participants point to statements by US President Trump that he will not impose tariffs on Beijing in the short term for purchasing Russian oil.
Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries are extending the downward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 3.5 basis points to 4.328 percent on Friday.
Analysis
HSBC raises L’Oreal target to EUR 355 (333) – Hold
UBS lowers Hapag-Lloyd target to EUR 100 (110) – Sell
UBS lowers Hellofresh target to EUR 7.60 (8.80) – Neutral
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