Zurich (awp) – The Swiss Stock Exchange was preparing to start Tuesday’s session on the right foot, in the wake of Wall Street’s rising close the day before. While a new burst of results awaits investors, including those of the number one Swiss bank UBS, uncertainty remains over the evolution of the monetary policies of the main central banks.
Across the Atlantic, the main indices ended the first session of the week with a modest increase and in low volumes, investors still digesting Friday’s employment figures, indicates John Plassard, of Mirabaud Banque. At the monetary level, the expert highlights the “hawkish” comments of Fed Governor Michelle Bowman.
According to Ms. Bowman, “It is important to note that monetary policy does not follow a pre-established path. My colleagues and I will make our decisions at each FOMC meeting based on the data received and the implications and risks for the outlook. Although the current stance on monetary policy appears to be restrictive, I remain willing to raise the federal funds rate at a future meeting if available data indicate that progress on inflation has stalled or reversed. Restoring price stability is essential to achieving maximum employment levels in the long term.”
John Plassard recalls that this is the second member of the Fed (after Neil Kashkari) who mentions a potential rise in interest rates if inflation does not continue its downward trend.
This Tuesday investors will look at retail sales in the euro zone for March as well as changes in consumer credit in the United States. They will thus try to find new economic indications concerning the future movements of central banks.
Shortly before 8:15 a.m. on the Swiss Stock Exchange, the SMI increased by 0.36% to 11,368.38 points, according to pre-market data from the Julius Bär bank. All of the twenty constituent stocks of the flagship index rose, in a range between 0.1% and 3%.
At the top of the table, UBS (+3%) was positioned at the head of the starting grid. The Swiss banking number one returned to black figures in the first three months of 2024, after two consecutive partial losses and a year after buying its faltering counterpart Credit Suisse. Proof of the renewed confidence, the Zurich establishment recorded significant inflows of cash.
Also publishing its quarterly performance, Geberit (+1.9%) tried to keep up with the pace imposed by the big bank. The bathroom equipment manufacturer reported a turnover of 837 million Swiss francs, down 6.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023. The performance proved to be higher than expectations.
Far behind, Richemont (+0.2%) took 3rd place, the Geneva luxury giant having announced the acquisition for an undisclosed amount of the Italian jeweler Vhernier. Followed by Holcim, Logitech, ABB, Alcon and Givaudan (all +0.2%). As for the three heavyweights of the rating, Nestlé, Novartis and the good Roche (all three +0.1%), they found themselves at the bottom of the ranking, however leaving the red lantern to the defensive Swisscom (+0.1%) .
Excluding SMI, OC Oerlikon jumped 4.1%, even though the Schwyz industrial group recorded a decline in sales in the first quarter. The group notably suffered from a market environment that remained difficult for the textile industry.
Adecco took 1.6%. The personnel placement giant A saw its revenues contract slightly over the first three months of the year, while its profitability fell more heavily. The group said it was on track to achieve its savings targets in 2024.
Sandoz fell 1.3%. The pharmaceutical group generated a turnover of $2.49 billion (2.25 billion Swiss francs) over the first three months of the year, up 6% year-on-year excluding currency effects. Performance was mainly fueled by biosimilars, openly favored in the Rhine group’s strategy.
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