Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market ended on a clearly positive note on Monday, regaining momentum after the decline at the end of last week. The SMI finished just above the 11,900 point mark. The session was peaceful, with no major corporate or macroeconomic news.
In New York, Wall Street gained ground in the morning after a scattered opening, continuing to ride on the election of Donald Trump to the American presidency, which brought the indices to record levels.
“It seems that the market will continue to rise thanks to the + Trump Trade +”, that is to say the anticipation of investors according to which a new Trump presidency will be positive for the stock market, commented Quincy Krosby, of LPL Financial .
“It is possible to argue that the market has gone too far, too fast, and that it needs consolidation, but when the momentum is there, it is not enough,” explained, in a note, Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.
The SMI ended up 0.89% at 11,902.79 points, with a high of 11,952.06 and a low of 11,878.32. The SLI gained 1.02% to 1962.17 points and the SPI 0.77% to 15,852.65 points. Of the 30 star stocks, Kühne+Nagel (-1.1%), SIG Group (-0.7%) and Julius Bär (-0.1%) are the only losers of the day, Swiss Life having finished at the balance.
Swiss Re (+3.6%) finished on the top step of the podium, ahead of Sika (+2.1%) and Partners Group (+1.9%).
The reinsurer, which publishes its quarterly results on Thursday, saw its recommendation suddenly increased to “buy” from “sell” by UBS which also raised the price target to 136 from 106 Swiss francs. The extension to 2.4 billion dollars of provisions for legal risks eliminates any concerns about civil liability claims in the country of Uncle Sam, estimated the analyst who expects an improvement in the evolution of profits next year, paving the way for a new share buyback program and attractive dividend yields.
The luxury giant Richemont (+0.9%) benefited, in the wake of its half-year results on Friday, from an increase in recommendation to “buy” from “hold” by HSBC which also increased the price target . Several other analysts revised their copy after the figures, lowering the price target for recommendations between “sector perform” and “buy”.
Biel’s competitor to Geneva, Swatch (+0.9%) also progressed.
The specialist in ophthalmic products Alcon (+0.9%) reveals its quarterly results late Tuesday evening (after the close in New York). Analysts are forecasting revenue of $2.5 billion and basic earnings per share of $0.75.
On the broader market, the Geneva laboratory Addex (-8.2%) fell back into the red figures in the third quarter, in the wake of an unprecedented gain in the previous partial. The sale for 14.0 million Swiss francs of a significant part of the activities to Neurosterix allows the Plan-les-Ouatienne company to stay afloat over the first three cumulative partials.
Heavyweights Roche (+0.9%), Novartis (+0.3%) and Nestlé (+0.1%) advanced variously.
The Geneva manufacturer of electronic boxes and components Lem (-21.9%) saw its sales decrease in the first half of its staggered 2024/25 financial year (April to September). The group does not expect any recovery in the second half and has launched a savings program.
The Biel-based manufacturer of machine tools and automation solutions Mikron (-3.0%) announced the acquisition of the software platform of the Friborg start-up LYSR, for an undisclosed amount.
Orascom DH (+3.1%) benefited from the solid results of its Egyptian subsidiary over nine months.
The pharmaceutical company Relief Therapeutics (+13.8%) confirmed and quantified the success announced a month ago of a clinical program on its anti-infective RLF-TD011 applied to patients suffering from epidermolysis bullosa.
The advertising agency Goldbach, owned by the diversified publisher TX Group (+1.3%), is selling its Austrian subsidiary to the Dutch advertising and entertainment platform Azerion. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
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