The Swiss Stock Exchange continued with very positive momentum on Thursday as midday approached, although having dropped the 11,900 point mark, crossed at the start of the session. The mood was high after the publication of consumer prices in the United States for December the day before. In the wake of Richemont’s figures, the Geneva group and its competitor Swatch made strong progress.
For John Plassard of Mirabaud Banque, investors are not completely reassured by the American inflation figures which still showed a third consecutive month of increase. “It will certainly take a lot more to convince them that the Fed will aggressively continue its cycle of monetary easing in the coming months,” he says.
In the United Kingdom, gross domestic product increased slightly in November, by 0.1%, after a decline of the same magnitude the previous month. In Italy, inflation slowed to 1% in 2024, compared to 5.7% in 2023, thanks to the fall in energy prices; in December, it stood at 1. 3% over one year. In Germany, inflation was confirmed at 2.6% over the same period.
In Switzerland, the tourism sector had a good month in November, with overnight stays jumping 5.8% thanks to the increase in Swiss and foreign visitors. Over eleven months, the increase is less, of 1.9%, with the Swiss hosts showing a decline over one year.
In the afternoon, the state of retail sales in the United States for December will follow.
At 11:05 a.m., the Swiss Market Index (SMI) increased by 0.82% to 11,877.55 points and the Swiss Leader Index (SLI) increased by 0.71% to 1964.12 points. The Swiss Performance Index (SPI) rose by 0.72% to 15,838.27 points. Among the star stocks, winners and losers balanced each other out.
Richemont soared 16.5%. The Geneva manager of luxury brands did better than expected in the last quarter of 2024. The luxury group saw its revenues grow by 10%, and also 10% excluding currency effects, to reach 6.15 billion euros. Growth was driven by all regions, with the exception of the Asian continent. Swatch jumped 7.9% in the wake of these figures.
-Geberit (-4.4%) was at the bottom of the ranking. The sanitary technology group withstood the headwinds blowing through the construction and renovation market last year. The specialist in sanitary installations generated a turnover of 3.08 billion francs, a stable amount compared to 2023. The Ebitda operating margin should, however, have declined.
Partners Group (+0.8%) has injected 400 million euros on behalf of its clients into Green flexibility, a developer of large-scale battery storage systems based in Kempten, southwest of Munich.
Sika (-0.3%) has expanded its geographic coverage with the opening of two production sites in Singapore and Xi’an, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. The first specializes in the manufacture of mortar and the second in tile adhesives, cement-based waterproofing solutions and floor coverings.
Heavyweights Nestlé and Roche weighed on the index, losing 0.2% and 0.6% respectively. Novartis (+0.1%) was close to balance.
On the broader market, Aryzta (+8.4%) indicated that it was one year ahead of its medium-term financial objectives. The industrial baker notably expects to prematurely achieve the gross operating margin (Ebitda) objective of at least 14.5%.
Santhera (-0.7%) had given up its gains from the start of the session. The laboratory will have free rein for the planned launch in the United Kingdom of its treatment against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Approved for just a year across the Channel, Agamree (vamorolone) now also has a favorable opinion from the health services (NICE) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. (AWP)
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