Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market ended on a positive note on Wednesday, reacting cautiously with the risks of escalation in the Middle East where Israel threatened to retaliate after Iran launched some 200 missiles towards its territory in revenge the death of the leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas. Tehran responded that it would hit “all Israeli infrastructure” if attacked.
In New York, Wall Street was moving close to equilibrium in the morning. Investors were cautious about risky assets, such as stocks, while waiting to “understand whether the conflict” between Israel and Iran can “spread across the entire Middle East,” explained economist Jim Reid. of Deutsche Bank.
Geopolitical tensions remained the main focus of market attention and the publication of the monthly ADP/Stanford Lab survey did not spark any major movements. Private sector businesses in the United States added 143,000 jobs in September, higher than expected and up sharply from August, contradicting other indicators that showed a slowing market of work. We are now awaiting official employment data, which will be published on Friday.
In the euro zone, the unemployment rate remained stable in August compared to July, at 6.4% of the active population. Despite sluggish economic growth, the indicator remains at its lowest level since the European Statistics Office began compiling this series in April 1998 for countries having adopted the single currency.
The SMI ended up 0.29% at 12,122.09 points, with a high of 12,159.78 points and a low of 12,055.56 points. The SLI gained 0.26% to 1985.11 points and the SPI 0.24% to 16,170.88 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 19 rose and 11 fell.
Julius Bär, Richemont and Swatch (all +2.1%) finished at the top of the day’s ranking.
The Geneva luxury giant was not penalized by a reduction in its price target by Kepler Cheuvreux, which confirmed its purchase recommendation.
In the trial on the laundering of funds of the Bulgarian mafia before the Federal Criminal Court, UBS (+1.4%) stuck to its position: its representative refused practically any statement, recalling that the bank had nothing to do with the accusations against Credit Suisse. The court also questioned two defendants, a Bulgarian and a Swiss who claimed to know nothing about the activities of the mafia clan.
Heavyweights Roche (+0.1%), Nestlé (+0.2%) and Novartis (+0.4%) gained ground.
Goldman Sachs raised Novartis’ price target and confirmed “neutral”. The end of the year risks lacking a catalyst for the title of the multinational pharmaceutical company, according to the analyst who notes that capital holders will concentrate at the end of the third quarter on the renewal of the range of products, as well as on whether or not the growth rate printed on the first two partials is maintained.
Sandoz (-3.2%) finished bottom, behind Givaudan and Swiss Re (each -0.8%).
On the broader market, Doc Morris (-6.2%) suffered from a lowering of recommendation by the HSBC bank, which now gives it “hold” instead of “buy”. Interviewed by AWP, the boss of the online pharmacist Walter Hess sees the group well positioned to develop its activity. “Over the past two years, we have worked intensively to achieve balance in our core business, laying the foundation for a stable e-prescription business,” he said.
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