European markets open higher following UBS earnings; Swiss bank up 5%

European markets opened higher Thursday after UBS posted its first set of results since the bank completed its takeover of Credit Suisse.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% at the start of trading on the final day of the month, with most sectors trading in positive territory. Financial services led gains with a 1.2% uptick, while food and beverages dropped 0.5%.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

UBS on Thursday posted a second-quarter profit of $28.88 billion in its first quarterly earnings since Switzerland’s largest bank completed its takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse.

UBS said the result primarily reflected $28.93 billion in negative goodwill on the Credit Suisse acquisition. Underlying profit before tax, which excludes negative goodwill, integration-related expenses and acquisition costs, came in at $1.1 billion.

The group also announced that Credit Suisse’s stalwart domestic banking unit will be fully integrated into UBS, with a merging of legal entities expected to close in 2024.

The fate of Credit Suisse’s flagship Swiss bank, a key profit center for the group and the only division still generating positive earnings in 2022, was a focal point of the acquisition.

The emergency rescue deal that saw UBS purchase Credit Suisse at a heavily discounted 3 billion Swiss francs was mediated by Swiss authorities over the course of a weekend in March.

Read the full story here.

— Elliot Smith

When it comes to picking stocks, Hannah Gooch-Peters of asset management firm Sanlam Investments UK avoids chasing trends.

She said she believes investors need to look beyond the “Magnificent Seven,” referring to Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — tech stocks that have made massive gains this year.

The global equity investment analyst told CNBC Pro Talks that the firm looks for high-quality companies all over the world, and shared her “very specific” definition of quality.

Gooch-Peters names her top five stock picks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about them here.

— Weizhen Tan

The ADP private payrolls report showed slower-than-expected job growth in August.

Private employers added 177,000 jobs in August, according to ADP, well below the revised total of 371,000 jobs added in July. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 200,000 jobs added in August.

The firm also said that pay growth slowed for workers who changed jobs and those who stayed in their current positions.

—Jesse Pound

When it comes to picking stocks, Hannah Gooch-Peters of asset management firm Sanlam Investments UK avoids chasing trends.

She said she believes investors need to look beyond the “Magnificent Seven,” referring to Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — tech stocks that have made massive gains this year.

The global equity investment analyst told CNBC Pro Talks that the firm looks for high-quality companies all over the world, and shared her “very specific” definition of quality.

Gooch-Peters names her top five stock picks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about them here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are set to open higher Thursday, according to IG data. Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen up 5.8 points to 7,481.8 and Germany’s DAX is forecast to jump 18.4 points to 15,924.5. France’s CAC is estimated to move 7.7 points to 7,378.4, while Italy’s MIB looks set to rise 0.8 points to 29,023.3.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton