Stock market climbs; Amrize experiences substantial losses, while Roche, Novartis, and Nestlé witness growth - US dollar strengthens again
In today's market news, the Swiss stock market slightly recovered on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) closed with a gain of 0.4 percent at 12,049 points.
Barry Callebaut, a major player in the chocolate industry, experienced a 5 percent drop in share price after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating to 'Hold'. CEO Peter Feld of Barry Callebaut explained that the company is working on substitutes for cocoa to reduce its dependence on the expensive raw material. Despite this, Lindt&Spruengli, a competitor, outperformed Barry Callebaut, currently up 1.1 percent.
Elsewhere in the market, UBS stood out with a 0.8 percent increase in share price amid discussions about new capital requirements for the US bank. Major shareholder Cevian has stated that the planned stricter capital requirements make a Swiss headquarters for UBS no longer sustainable.
Kuehne+Nagel's shares have been upgraded to Neutral from Underperform by BNP Paribas Exane, with a new price target of 160 Fr. Other cyclical stocks like VAT, Schindler, and ABB were among the top gainers. Defensive pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis led the winners, with gains of 0.6 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.
In the technology sector, Nvidia is investing in Intel with a $5 billion stake. Intel's stock surged 29.1 percent, while Nvidia gained 2.5 percent. This strategic partnership involves the joint development of custom chips for data centers and PCs.
The price of a barrel of Brent for delivery in November was $68.05, a ten cents increase from the previous day. The price for a barrel of WTI also rose slightly. Oil prices held steady on Thursday, within the narrow trading range of recent days.
The US dollar gained against both the Euro and the Swiss franc on Thursday afternoon. The weekly initial jobless claims in the US surprisingly decreased compared to the previous week. This positive employment data contributed to the resumption of the record-breaking rally in US stock markets. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 climbed to record highs.
Packaging specialist SIG's shares plummeted nearly 20 percent due to a major transformation program and lower 2025 targets. Conversely, Comet (+7.3 percent) has increased in share price following a price target increase by UBS. Newron Pharma gained nearly 8 percent on the broader market, while Sonova had the biggest gain at 1.7 percent.
Fedex will present its first quarter results after market close, and Nike rose 1.6 percent in pre-market trading. Givaudan remains largely unchanged, but Goldman Sachs has raised its price target to 4400 from 4300 Swiss francs and maintained its buy recommendation.
Swisscom also lost 1.4 percent, and Richemont (-0.3 percent) and Swatch (-1.7 percent) have lower share prices following the latest data on Swiss watch exports. Holcim share is up 0.8 percent to 68.68 francs after FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments) took a 3 percent stake in the cement producer.
Partners Group also gained 1.3 percent, and the SMI is up 0.21 percent in pre-market trading at the IG Bank. The Swiss stock market continues to show signs of recovery, reflecting optimism in the global economic outlook after the Fed's interest rate cut.
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