Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market ended on a positive note on Friday. After hesitating in the morning, the indices settled into the green and the SMI finished well above the symbolic bar of 12,100 points. Investors, however, remain cautious ahead of further details on the Chinese government’s recovery measures and the conflict in the Middle East.
China must present on Saturday a new recovery plan eagerly awaited by analysts and investors who are counting on announcements worth several hundred billion dollars to support the world’s second largest economy, undermined in particular by a prolonged real estate crisis.
In New York, Wall Street gained ground in the morning, supported by a good inflation figure and better-than-expected quarterly results from the financial sector.
The PPI producer price index in the United States slowed slightly year-on-year in September, to 1.8% compared to 1.9% in August, benefiting in particular from the decline in energy prices, but with a rebound food prices.
“It’s slightly better than expected. (…) wholesale prices have calmed down somewhat,” commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. “The details of the report suggest (…) that disinflation trends remain well anchored,” according to Samuel Tombs, analyst at Pantheon MacroEconomics.
Elsewhere, the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded by 0.2% in August, after stagnating the previous month. In Germany, inflation eased significantly in September to reach its lowest level since February 2021, reinforcing expectations of a further rate cut by the ECB in October.
In Switzerland, the consumer climate index stood at -34 points in September. It is thus 17 points higher than its September 2023 level, according to Seco.
The SMI ended up 0.64% at 12,154.73 points with a high of 12,176.39 and a low of 12,049.68 points. The SLI gained 0.54% to 1988.91 points and the SPI 0.58% to 16,211.07 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 22 rose and 8 fell.
ABB and Zurich Insurance (each +1.3%) share first place on the podium, ahead of the good Schindler (+1.1%) and UBS and Roche (each +0.9%).
The American health authority FDA approved Thursday evening the anticancer drug Inavolisib from the pharmaceutical giant Roche, in combination with Palbociclib (Ibrance) and Fulvestrant for the treatment of patients suffering from advanced or metastasized breast cancer with certain mutations.
The two other heavyweights Novartis (+0.8%) and Nestlé (+0.2%) also gained more or less ground.
On the losing side, Straumann (-1.1%) finished bottom, behind Swatch Group (-0.7%) and Swisscom and Givaudan (each -0.2%).
The day after the publication of an increase in turnover over nine months, the Geneva specialist in aromas and perfumes saw its recommendation raised to “buy” from “hold” by CFRA which also increased the price target, welcoming the good performance of business. Vontobel and Goldman Sachs have also raised their respective price targets and continue to recommend the stock to “buy”.
Sandoz (-0.1%) will launch on the important American market the generic formulation of the paclitaxel molecule, used in chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
On the broader market, the Cosmo laboratory (-0.3%) announced the arrival of Svetlana Sigalova, from Moderna, as new financial director (CFO) as of November 11.
The Schaffhausen group Georg Fischer (+0.7%) announced the immediate departure of Joost Geginat, president of GF Piping Systems and member of the group’s management. Managing Director Andreas Müller will take over on an interim basis pending the appointment of a successor.
The insurer Helvetia (+0.6%) has excellent financial strength and proves to be a robust debtor, according to the rating agency AM Best. This granted an “a+” long-term credit rating to the Saint-Gallois group.
The railway equipment manufacturer Stadler Rail (-0.6%) has requested partial unemployment for 119 employees in Altenrhein, due to delivery difficulties by its Valais aluminum supplier Constellium, affected by bad weather this summer. The Bussnang group also described as speculation information from the official Belta press agency, relayed on Friday by the Tamedia newspapers, according to which the Belarusian government would like to take over the Stadler Rail factory in the capital Minsk and would seek to for this purpose a Russian partner to ensure its operation.
The ventilation and air conditioning specialist Zehnder (+0.4%) wants to continue on the path of growth in North America, which is why it has appointed a manager for this region. Valentina Videva Dufresne will take up her position on January 1 and will join the general management of the Aargau group.
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