2023-11-22 10:41:05
Zurich (awp) – Green remained in favor on Wednesday on the Swiss Stock Exchange as midday approached, the SMI further increasing its gains slightly. As the flow of corporate news begins to dry up as the end of the year approaches, investors were digesting Tuesday’s publication of the Minutes of the Federal Reserve (Fed), which declares itself more than ever determined to curb inflation.
Investors considered the Fed Minutes “as more hawkish than the Fed meeting”, while Nvidia revealed mixed results, at least in terms of prospects in China in particular, observes John Plassard, of Mirabaud Bank.
The report recalled that the US central bank kept the target range of the federal funds rate at its highest level in 22 years, namely 5.25%-5.5%, for the second consecutive time in November, reflecting the dual priority of policymakers to bring inflation back to the 2% target while avoiding excessive monetary tightening.
Policymakers stressed that the magnitude of any further tightening of monetary policy would take into account the cumulative impact of previous interest rate hikes, the lags associated with the influence of monetary policy on economic activity and the inflation, and developments in both the economy and financial markets. The Minutes also revealed that the Fed’s Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) has yet to discuss rate cuts, while the main focus remains on whether the central bank will need to make additional rate hikes.
On the macroeconomic side, investors will look this Wednesday at durable goods orders for October in the United States.
After gaining 0.26% at the start of the session, the SMI continued its rise, reaching a morning high around 10:00 a.m., at 10,860.41 points, before giving up part of its gains. Shortly before 11:15 a.m., the flagship index recorded 10,835.33 points, an increase of 0.49%. the SLI increased by 0.49% to 1716.14 points, while the broader SPI indicator did the same, or by 0.44% to 14,217.66 points.
Of the thirty constituent stocks of the Swiss Leader Index (SLI), seven lost ground and 21 gained, while Straumann and the good heavyweight Roche were standing still. The other two largest capitalizations on the market, Novartis and Nestlé, gained 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively.
At the bottom of the table, Lindt (-1.2%) inherited the red lantern, behind Sandoz (-1.1%) and Givaudan (-0.8%). Morgan Stanley downgraded the recommendation of the world number one in flavors and fragrances to “underweight”. The price target was reduced to 2750 Swiss francs. Straumann (-0.7%), Sandoz (-0.7%), Lonza (-0.5%), Sonova (-0.5%), notably completed the group of losers.
At the other end of the ranking, Alcon took off by 1.6%, escaping a group of pursuers made up of Richemont (+1.3%), Sika (+1.2%) and Logitech (+1.2 %). SIG Group (+0.6%) fell into line,
while the Schaffhausen packaging specialist simply renewed its medium-term roadmap, during its day dedicated to investors. Annualized growth excluding currency effects must therefore always be within a range of 4 to 6% and the gross operating margin (Ebitda) above 27%.
As for the broader Helvetia market, it fell by 1.5%. The St. Gallen insurer estimated that damage due to bad weather affecting several of its markets should reach around 200 million Swiss francs in the 3rd quarter, an amount one and a half times higher than for the whole year. 2022. The Eastern Switzerland group, however, assured that it continues to have “solid” capitalization.
After a start to the session in the red, the online apothecary Docmorris (+1.5%) rebounded, after announcing the reorganization of its management, which went from six to five members. Walter Hess, Managing Director, will now also be in charge of activities in Germany, previously headed by Matthias Peuckert, who is leaving the company.
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