FX.co ★ Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note On Strong Economic Data

The Swiss stock market concluded the week on a robust note, mirroring positive movements across European markets. This surge in confidence was bolstered by encouraging earnings from major U.S. companies Intel and Amazon, alongside data indicating an unexpected decrease in Swiss consumer price inflation.

The leading Swiss Market Index (SMI) rose by 174.28 points, or 1.48%, closing at 11,967.20. The day's trading range saw a low of 11,842.98 and reached a high of 11,991.87.

Notably, shares in Julius Baer and Lonza Group saw gains of approximately 3.1%. Logitech International and UBS Group also performed well, advancing by 2.52% and 2.11%, respectively.

Other key performers included Straumann Holding, Roche Holding, Swatch Group, Novartis, Sonova, and Holcim, all of which recorded increases between 1.6% and 2%. Companies such as Nestle, Lindt & Spruengli, Swiss Life Holding, Swisscom, VAT Group, Swiss Re, ABB, SGS, and Sika saw their shares edge up by 1% to 1.5%.

Additional solid performances were seen from Richemont, Zurich Insurance, Givaudan, Schindler Ps, Kuehne + Nagel, and Alcon.

Conversely, Geberit decreased by 1%, while SIG Group saw a slight decline of 0.32%.

In noteworthy economic data, the Federal Statistical Office reported that Switzerland's consumer price inflation declined unexpectedly in October, reaching its lowest mark in over three years. The consumer price index increased by 0.6% year-on-year in October, down from a 0.8% rise in September, contrary to the forecast which anticipated no change.

On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices dipped by 0.1% in October, following a 0.3% decrease in September when expectations were for prices to hold steady.

Additionally, the same office highlighted that retail sales in Switzerland grew by 2.2% year-on-year in September 2024, missing the projected 2.5% rise and cooling from a revised 2.7% growth seen in August. Month-to-month, retail sales fell by 0.5%, subsequent to a downwardly corrected 0.1% increase in August.

Furthermore, data from procure.ch and UBS indicated that Switzerland's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained at 49.9 in October 2024, consistent with September's figure, maintaining just below the growth threshold of 50, slightly exceeding predictions of 49.8.