Geneva (awp) – The Swiss stock market was overcome by the prevailing nervousness on Thursday as midday approached. Concerns about an escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict took over, while the excitement for Nvidia faded.
“Overall, the stock markets remain very nervous, in particular because the Russian nuclear threat continues to be mentioned,” comments Frank Sohlleder for ActivTrades. Investors, however, still hope to benefit from some impulses after Nvidia's figures published the day before, according to the analyst.
The chip giant turned in a solid but confusing performance Wednesday night. “Nvidia's results reassured investors about the immediate future of artificial intelligence, but cast doubt on the pace of the company's future growth,” notes John Plassard, at Mirabaud Banque.
For her Swissquote colleague Ipek Ozkardeskaya, the party is over. The American semiconductor behemoth far exceeded expectations and ensured that demand for its chips did not weaken. Still, the sales outlook for the fourth quarter was somewhat disappointing. Furthermore, “the company's gross margin fell slightly during the last quarter”, according to the online banking analyst who questions Nvidia's ability to find new customers.
During this time, bitcoin still benefited from a “Trump effect”, based on the possible creation of a strategic reserve of bitcoins in the United States by the president-elect. The best-known cryptocurrency was close to $98,000 around 6:30 a.m., before falling to $97,425 around 10:30 a.m.
Little news was expected on the macroeconomic front. In France, the business climate worsened in November, deteriorating in all sectors with the exception of industry.
Around 10:55 a.m., the Swiss Market Index (SMI) dropped 0.12% to 11,525.96 points, the Swiss Leader Index (SLI) lost 0.18% to 1899.68 points and the Swiss Performance Index (SPI) 0, 18% at 15,346.36 points. Of the thirty star stocks, seven were moving in the green.
On the heavyweight side, Roche (+0.4%), benefited from the green light from Swissmedic for the subcutaneous administration of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
On the other hand, the other pharma giant, Novartis (-0.1%), fell after having revised its medium-term objective on the occasion of its investors' day. The Rhine giant forecasts an annualized growth rate of 6% over the period 2023-2028, increased by one percentage point compared to the last update. The third heavyweight in the index, Nestlé (-0.7%) also lost a few feathers.
Zurich Insurance (+2.0%) was sought after after unveiling a new strategic plan during its investor day, targeting an increase in earnings per share of more than 9% per year over the period 2025/2027, accompanied by various measures .
Julius Bär was well ahead of the SLI, gaining 3.1% following the publication of its ten-month results. The Zurich wealth manager saw its assets under management increase slightly to 480 billion Swiss francs, while net inflows of new money reached 11 billion at the end of October, compared to 3.7 billion at the end of June. The gross margin, on the other hand, fell.
Logitech (+1.5%) saw its price target raised by UBS. The computer peripherals manufacturer has managed to reduce its costs, which should enable it to raise its targets for 2024/25.
At the bottom of the ranking, SIG (-2.5%), Adecco (-2.1%) and Richemont (-1.2%) made up the trio of biggest losers.
On the broader market, Bachem (-0.4%) lost ground. The peptide and oligonucleotide biochemist confirmed its short and medium term objectives during its investor day. The group still aims to cross the milestone of one billion Swiss francs in annual revenue within two years and to maintain its Ebitda margin above 30%.
SoftwareONE (-1.0%) was also moving into the negative zone. The software provider was downgraded by Julius Bär and the price target was reduced to 8.50 Swiss francs, compared to 22.50 Swiss francs previously. The company has not achieved all of its ambitions, as has been the case several times, and discussions about an exit from the stock market are underway.
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