Zurich (awp) – After opening higher, the Swiss Stock Exchange lost its gains on Monday as midday approached, with investors showing hesitation. While the good American employment figures revealed on Friday continued to delight the market at the start of the morning, the continuation of military operations in Gaza and Lebanon took over.
Erased on Friday by American employment data, concerns about tensions in the Middle East reappeared. The figures relating to the American labor market were undoubtedly the biggest surprise for the markets last week, notes John Plassard of Mirabaud Banque.
Job creations far exceeded expectations, amounting to 254,000, compared to forecasts of 150,000 and the unemployment rate also fell, from 4.2% to 4.1%. The total number of jobs created last month was also revised upwards, from 142,000 to 159,000. After two months of weaker-than-expected jobs reports and downward revisions, the data was a welcome change in tone for markets.
The data reinforces US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell’s view that the economy is “strong”, suggesting the Fed is in no rush to cut interest rates, dampening hopes for a significant rate cut in November.
But “the war in the Middle East weighs on people’s minds”, while “the threat of a new escalation maintains upward pressure on oil prices”, comments Susannah Streeter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. A year after the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the conflict has now spread to Lebanon, where the Israeli army is carrying out strikes and incursions against Hezbollah.
Questions about Israel’s possible response after Tehran’s recent strikes against its territory are particularly occupying the minds of investors, who fear the resulting surge in oil prices and its potentially inflationary and secessionist effects.
In terms of macroeconomic information, industrial orders in Germany fell significantly more than expected in August, marking the start of a week where the government should, according to the press, forecast a recession for the whole year. This Monday, investors will again focus on August retail sales in the euro zone as well as the speeches of several officials of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Fed.
After opening up 0.31%, the SMI progressed in the first exchanges to quickly reach a high of the day at 12,049.01 points. But the mood gradually subsided, the flagship index giving up all its gains and plunging into the red around 10:20 a.m., never to leave the loss zone. Shortly after 11:00 a.m., the SMI stood at 110972.50 points, a drop of 0.2%. The SLI for its part dropped 0.31% to 1962.09 points and the expanded SPI indicator 0.2% to 16,002.27 points.
Of the thirty stocks making up the Swiss Leader Index, only five gained ground, the other 25 losing ground. At the top of the table, Swatch Group (+1.2%) was now ahead of UBS (+0.6%) and its luxury competitor Richemont (+0.5%).
The Geneva-based giant has announced an agreement with MYT Netherlands for Mytheresa to acquire Yoox Net-à-Porter (YNAP) to create a global multi-brand digital luxury group. Completion of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2025 following approval of the usual conditions. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.
The three heavyweights of the rating, Nestlé (-0.2%), Novartis (-0.2%) and Roche (-0.1%) all found themselves on the wrong side of the bar.
Straumann (-1.8%) found itself in last position, behind Swiss Re (-1.5%), the Zurich reinsurer finding itself under pressure as Hurricane Milton, now qualified as a major hurricane, moved in an “erratic” manner. ” in the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida. The American southeast has already been devastated following the devastating passage of Hélène.
In the broader market, Perrot Duval (-11.5%) and Relief Therapeutics (+8.7%) showed the largest variations.
Among the few pieces of information from early this morning, Kudelski (stable) announced that its subsidiary Nagravision was extending its collaboration with DishTV India, without financial details. Temenos (+0.1%) has appointed Barb Morgan as director of products and technology with immediate effect.
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