Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market gained height on Wednesday at the start of the session, seeming to capitalize on these gains of the last few days. Wall Street’s bout of apathy thus had no impact on the mood on this side of the Atlantic.
“Stock markets have regained momentum in recent days, a phenomenon likely to revive the attractiveness of stocks for players looking for quick gains,” notes Jochen Stanzl, chief analyst at CMC Markets.
At Swissquote, Ipek Ozkardeskaya observes that investors are already eyeing the Federal Reserve (Fed) of Uncle Sam’s country, with a speech scheduled for the end of the day from Governor Lisa Cook, among others.
At 9:18 a.m., the Swiss Market Index (SMI) rose by 0.44% to 11,563.25 points, the Swiss Leader Index (SLI) by 0.45% to 1,891.39 points and the Swiss Performance Index (SPI ) by 0.45% to 15,440.92 points. Of the thirty main valuations, 25 rose, SIG Group remained silent and four fell.
The generic and biosimilar giant Sandoz (+3.0%) was getting back on track after the previous day’s losses, following a relative disappointment in terms of quarterly revenue.
The bathroom equipment manufacturer Geberit (+1.4%) benefited from a hold versus sell recommendation from CFRA, the day after a quarterly situation update.
The pharmaceutical industry subcontractor Lonza (+1.6%) completed the top three, after seeing Jefferies raise its price target.
At the other end of the ranking, UBS (-0.6%) saw Moody’s raise the assessment of its debt capacity by one notch. The New York rating agency does not, however, rule out reversing its steps, the outlook having been revised to “negative” the day after the quarterly figures. Asset manager Julius Bär (-0.4%) was also struggling.
Heavyweights Roche (good +0.8%), Nestlé (+0.7%) and Novartis (+0.5%), on the other hand, supported the trend.
On the broader market, Adecco (+3.0%) is now recommended for purchase by RBC, which until now provided a neutral assessment.
The energy meter manufacturer Landis+Gyr (-1.0%) had a more successful 2023/24 fiscal year than expected and in the process raised the remuneration of its shareholders.
The aerospace industry subcontractor Montana Aerospace (not followed) returned to negative figures for the first three months of the year and confirmed its targets for the current financial year and beyond.
The financial director of the ambient air specialist Arbonia (-0.3%) Daniel Wüest has decided to work in the future for the online apothecary Docmorris (-1.9%).
The Geneva pharmaceutical group Relief Therapeutics (+3.7%) has acquired a complete management team.
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