Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market started the week on a positive note. The SMI once again settled a little above the symbolic bar of 12,200 points. Caution remains in order as the presidential election approaches in the United States and in the face of geopolitical tensions. The week will also see a number of companies reveal their interim results.
In New York, Wall Street gained ground in the morning, supported by the fall in oil prices, while maintaining a wait-and-see posture before a week full of quarterly results and macroeconomic indicators.
This “strong opening” is “mainly due to the collapse in oil prices,” Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities commented to AFP.
Oil prices plunged on Monday after Israel spared Iranian energy infrastructure in Saturday’s air attack, the Jewish state having preferred to target military sites in response to Tehran’s missile attack on October 1.
“At the moment, it seems that the two parties have reached a sort of status quo,” Mr. Cardillo said.
The SMI ended up 0.44% at 12,237.97 points, with a high of 12,254.80 and a low of 12,155.96. The SLI gained 0.67% to 1996.81 points and the SPI 0.48% to 16,283.44 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 24 rose, 5 fell and Kühne+Nagel finished unchanged.
Julius Bär reduced the price target of the transport and logistics group and confirmed “hold”.
Roche and Lonza (each -1.2%) share the red lantern of the small group of losers, behind Nestlé (-0.2%), Adecco (-0.1%) and Givaudan (-0.02%)
Bernstein raised the price target of the pharmaceutical industry supplier and confirmed “outperform”.
The third heavyweight, Novartis (+1.2%) supported the index, which revealed its third quarter results on Tuesday. Analysts expect revenue of $12.7 billion and core net profit of $3.9 billion.
Sonova (+6.7%) precedes SIG (+3.6%) and Holcim (+3.4%) on today’s podium.
The hearing aid specialist reported positive news on its contract with American retail giant Costco. A previous contract was terminated in November 2022 following a change in strategy by Costco.
The cardboard food packaging manufacturer publishes its third quarter results on Tuesday. Analysts forecast revenues of 829 million euros and adjusted net profit of 79.5 million.
Analysts from Vontobel, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and RBC raised the building materials giant’s price target following the release of its third quarter results on Friday. Recommendations vary between “underweight” and “overweight”.
Sika (+1.7%) regained ground after losing some on Friday in the wake of its quarterly results. However, CFRA experts lowered the construction chemist’s recommendation to “hold”, as did the price objective. Octavian and Stifel have reduced the price target and confirmed “hold” and “buy” respectively.
During the Socialist Party congress in Davos on Sunday, the PS demanded the takeover of Sandoz (+1.5%), a former subsidiary of Novartis, by the Confederation.
The dental implant specialist Straumann (+0.6%) publishes its third quarter turnover on Tuesday. Analysts expect total revenues of 587 million Swiss francs and organic growth of 11.1%.
On the broader market, the asset manager GAM (-22.2%) is refining the outlines of its next capital increase, which should see its reference shareholder Rock Investment increase its participation. He had already committed in the spring to injecting up to 100 million Swiss francs into the operation, effectively covering the entire offer.
The loom manufacturer Rieter (+1.4%) confirmed its medium-term objectives during the investors’ day. Despite slowdowns, management intends not to fall into red figures.
The industrial conglomerate Sulzer (+1.2%) has signed a five-year service contract with PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), the subsidiary responsible for geothermal energy of the Indonesian public company Pertamina. In particular, he will advise the company on how to effectively achieve its electricity production and energy supply objectives.
rp/lf
