2023-11-29 10:31:07
Zurich (awp) – After a hesitant start, the Swiss Stock Exchange consolidated its gains on Wednesday as midday approached, investors seeming reassured by comments from several members of the American Federal Reserve (Fed). As the flow of corporate news dries up more and more, they now eagerly await US inflation figures.
For investors, the most anticipated event of the week is the publication of the preferred inflation indicator of the American central bank (Fed), the PCE index, which will be published on Thursday and will cover the month of October , an essential piece of data to support or not the market’s idea that the Fed’s interest rate hike cycle is over. Tuesday’s statements by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who said he was increasingly convinced that the monetary policy pursued by the Fed was well oriented to bring American inflation back to around the 2% target, received a favorable reception.
Investors preferred to focus on this prospect and left aside the statements of another Fed governor, Michelle Bowman, who estimated that it would undoubtedly be necessary to raise rates further to bring inflation back into range. nails in the United States. “No one mentioned the fall in bond yields and the possibility that it constitutes a challenge for the tightening of the Fed’s monetary policy,” observes Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.
The interest rate on the ten-year United States bond stood at 4.27% around 08:10 GMT, down compared to the day before (4.32%) and down more than 60 points. basis since the beginning of the month. On Friday it will be the Chairman of the Fed himself, Jerome Powell, who will speak.
In terms of today’s macroeconomic data, financial analysts are a little less pessimistic in November than in October regarding the economic outlook in Switzerland. The expectations of the 44 specialists consulted by UBS, however, still suggest a decline in the Swiss economy, for the twenty-first consecutive month. The UBS-CFA indicator, formerly CS-CFA, published on Wednesday, recovered in November to -29.6 points, compared to -37.8 points in October and -17.6 points in September.
New orders in the construction sector in Switzerland increased by 4.1% year-on-year between July and the end of September, to stand at 5.7 billion Swiss francs. This rebound reduces the demand deficit to 4.6% over the first nine months of the year, compared to still 8.3% at mid-term.
This Wednesday, markets and investors will once more focus on November inflation in Germany and Spain as well as consumer confidence in the euro zone in November.
After starting the session on a hesitant note, the SMI managed to expand its gains in the first exchanges, consolidating them as the mid-session approached. Around 10:50 a.m., the flagship index climbed to 10,829.02 points, an increase of 0.64%. The SLI showed itself even more valiant, gaining 0.75% to 1711.72 points, while the expanded indicator SPI advanced 0.60% to 14,190.53 points.
Of the thirty stocks making up the Swiss Leader Index, only five were left to lose ground, with the other twenty-five gaining. Sandoz (-0.9%) remained in the bottom position, behind insurers Zurich Insurance (-0.4%), Swiss Re (-0.3%) and Swiss Life (-0.3%). Julius Bär (+0.05%) barely got his head above water.
The two other financial stocks on the list, UBS (+1.1%) and Partners Group (+1.7%), were on the other hand sought following. The three heavyweights of the rating, Nestlé, Novartis and Roche, were all in the green, posting respective gains of 0.1, 0.4% and 0.6% (-0.1%).
At the top of the table, VAT Group (+3.6%) continued its breakaway, ahead of Sonova (+2.1%) and Kühne+Nagel (+2.1%). Swatch Group (+2%) found itself at the foot of the podium, followed a few steps away by Richemont (+1.7%).
The Geneva luxury giant does not plan to lend or invest in the online sales platform Farfetch, which is currently facing financial difficulties. Farfetch had, according to media reports, announced on Tuesday that it wanted to withdraw from the New York Stock Exchange, in particular due to the fall in the share price since 2018. Richemont sold a 47.5% stake in its company to the British company in 2022. e-commerce unit Yoox Net-a-Porter (Ynap). Farfetch, which specializes in luxury products, has, however, recorded sharply declining results for several quarters.
Among the other news of the day from companies in the broader market, the struggling biopharmaceutical laboratory Spexis (-4.9%) indicated that Sprim Global Investiments (SGI), its main creditor, has agreed to begin discussions with a view to achieving to an agreement on a loan restructuring.
The Plan-les-Ouatien laboratory Addex (-0.9%) continued to draw on its reserves between July and the end of September. Cash and equivalents have consequently dwindled to less than 5 million Swiss francs.
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