The Swiss stock market increased its gains on Wednesday as midday approached, as attention focused on the monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB), for which a first rate cut is expected on Thursday. which has not been done for eight years.
“We expect market volatility to remain elevated throughout today’s session and into the end of the week, as key US PMI data emerges in the afternoon, before the ECB decision on rates on Thursday and the publication of the US non-agricultural employment (NFP) report on Friday,” commented Pierre Veyret, analyst at Activtrade.
“While this second part of the week may bring plenty of turbulence and sharp price movements, we expect this data to shape short- to medium-term sentiment for U.S. and European stocks,” he said. added.
In macroeconomic news, services activity in China expanded at its fastest pace in ten months in May, according to an independent index. In France, industrial production increased by 0.5% in April compared to March and manufacturing production alone increased by 0.4%, INSEE announced on Wednesday.
In Switzerland, the employers’ organization Economiesuisse maintained its growth forecast for Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 at 1.1%. It nevertheless highlights the expected slow improvement in the situation on export markets between now and 2025 where GDP growth is expected at 1.4%.
At 11:00 a.m., the SMI rose by 0.75% to 12,099.39 points, the SLI gained 0.72% to 1,962.79 points and the SPI gained 0.64% to 16,081.56 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 27 were in the green, compared to only two (Swatch and SIG) in the red, one (UBS) stable.
Roche and Norvatis in the lead
The advance of the stock market was driven by pharmaceutical heavyweights Roche (up: 1.5%) and Novartis (+1.5%) while Nestlé (+0.3%) advanced more moderately.
Swisscom (+1.3%) also stood out from the crowd and climbed onto the third step of the provisional podium, tied with Kuehne +Nagel (+1.3%). The Swiss telecommunications number one, via its transalpine subsidiary Fastweb, has sold its 4.5% stake in network developer Fibercop. The sale will bring in 438.7 million euros and will be finalized in the third quarter.
Richemont (+0.7%) benefited from a clear increase in its price target to 160 francs by the Royal Bank of Canada. The competitor Swatch Group, for its part, held the temporary red lantern (-1.1%).
Holcim (+0.1%) was just in the green. The cement manufacturer has announced the acquisition of the British supplier of recycled construction materials Land Recovery. The financial outlines of the operation have not been drawn up. This contract across the Channel will allow Holcim to progress towards its objective of recycling 10 million tonnes of construction materials in 2024.
On the broader market, Metall Zug (untreated) and the household appliance manufacturer Miele have obtained the necessary authorizations for the establishment of their joint venture in the field of sterilization. (AWP)
