U.S. equity benchmarks opened higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3% at 53,520, the S&P 500 gaining 0.4% to 7,724 and the Nasdaq 100 advancing 0.5% to 29,720. Pre-market trading saw Moderna’s shares surge nearly 100% to $122, the highest level since July 2024, after the company and Merck & Co reported that their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, in combination with Merck’s Keytruda, significantly reduced melanoma recurrence rates compared with Keytruda alone.
Merck’s shares rose 5.5% in pre-market trade to $146, while BioNTech’s stock climbed 16% following the announcement. The trial results mark a potential milestone for mRNA-based therapies, which have faced regulatory and commercial hurdles in recent years. Separately, Analog Devices’ shares gained about 1% in pre-market trading after Goldman Sachs upgraded the chipmaker, citing solid quarterly results and an upbeat outlook.
Lowe’s shares fell 3.7% in pre-market trade after the home improvement retailer trimmed its full-year revenue guidance, forecasting flat same-store sales versus a prior outlook of up to 2% growth. The company also lowered its adjusted earnings per share guidance to $12.25, at the lower end of its previous range. Lowe’s cited weaker discretionary spending from homeowners amid elevated mortgage rates and reduced home sales. The retailer reported second-quarter revenue of $25.96 billion, missing analyst estimates. Rival Home Depot, which reported on Tuesday, exceeded expectations and reaffirmed its full-year targets.
Estee Lauder’s shares rose nearly 8% in pre-market trading after the cosmetics group delivered an upbeat outlook, while Target’s stock slipped 1.5% despite beating second-quarter same-store sales growth expectations of 2.5%, reporting a 3.8% increase. Target’s adjusted earnings per share of $4.11 also surpassed forecasts of $2.33. Analysts noted that while Target delivered a strong quarter, the bar had been set high. The stock has more than doubled since the start of the year.
In Switzerland, the SMI rose 0.36% to 14,326 points, outperforming weak Asian and U.S. semiconductor-led declines. Defensive stocks supported the index amid elevated geopolitical tensions and rising bond yields, which increased financing costs for AI infrastructure investments. European natural gas futures surged to €64.60 per megawatt-hour, the highest since the early stages of the Iran conflict, after the benchmark TTF contract for August delivery climbed to levels last seen in mid-March. The conflict, which began in late February, had previously pushed prices to around €70 per MWh.
Among Swiss blue chips, Geberit led gains with a 7.2% advance after reporting first-half results that topped expectations and citing improving conditions in its core European markets. Kuehne+Nagel and Amrize also advanced, while Roche, Nestlé and Novartis posted modest gains of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively. Defensive plays such as Roche benefited from the rotation into safer assets. Financials lagged, with Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich down between 0.2% and 0.7%, and UBS flat at 0.1%.
Straumann shares tumbled 6.3% after the dental implant maker’s CEO announced plans to depart, despite reporting earnings that exceeded analyst expectations. Implenia, Sensirion and LLB also posted gains of 5.8%, 6.3% and 4.0%, respectively, after releasing strong half-year results. Broader market laggards included Comet, AMS and Komax, which fell 1.0%, 2.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
