Trending tickers: UBS | Maersk | BP | Apple | Entain

UBS (UBSG.SW)

UBS stock rose around 1.7% in early trade on Tuesday after a report by the Financial Times revealed an activist investor had taken a €1.2bn (£1bn, $1.3bn) stake in the Swiss bank.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said Civian Capital has invested just under a tenth of its total portfolio in UBS since its takeover of Credit Suisse in March.

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The report added that Civian is betting the bank will double its valuation over the next three to five years and that the activist investor has tracked the bank for the last 15 years.

Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) and BP (BP.L)

Shipping firms and oil companies are having to make tricky choices as the war in Israel and Gaza plays out, diverting tankers and deliveries due to militant attacks in Yemen.

BP said it has witnessed a “deteriorating security situation” for its shipments as Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea in recent days. The pro-Hamas group is looking to disrupt ships set for Israel.

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Shipping giant Maersk's stock declined 0.9% in early trade, while BP stock was down 0.7%.

Crude oil (CL=F) prices also slipped.

Apple (AAPL)

Apple stock was slightly down in premarket trade after the tech company said it will halt sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the coming days. Apple will remove the watches from its online stores by the afternoon of 21 December and from physical stores by 24 December.

The decision to pull the watches comes after the International Trade Commission (ITC) granted medical device maker Masimo (MASI) cease-and-desist and limited exclusion orders preventing Apple from importing and selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US in October.

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That kicked off a review period during which the Biden administration could veto the orders. The review period ends on 25 December. Apple is pulling its watches ahead of time to ensure it is in compliance if the White House doesn't come to the company's aid.

Apple stock lost as much as 1% of its value on Monday before recovering slightly.

Entain (ENT.L)

Gambling heavyweight Entain rose on Tuesday after an upgrade by Jeffries to "buy" from "hold".

The change was prompted by a management shakeup and new activist investors Cortex Capital for the company.

The stock now has a £2.15 price target.

Watch: BP becomes latest company to temporarily suspend shipping due to Red Sea attacks

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