2024-01-29 17:16:19
Zurich (awp) – The Swiss stock market ended on a positive note on Monday. The conflict in the Middle East and the real estate crisis in China have captured the attention of investors, whose eyes were already turning to the United States where the Monetary Committee of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday . After a negative opening, the SMI quickly rose and oscillated in the green for the rest of the session. In Switzerland, Holcim and Julius Bär have attracted attention.
In New York, Wall Street was moving in scattered order close to balance in the morning while the week will be busy with corporate results and the Fed meeting.
“A busy week of results and the Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday will dominate the action,” recalled Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Managements, also listing the heavyweights in the technology sector who must announce results. Among them Alphabet, Microsoft, AMD are scheduled for Tuesday and Amazon, Apple and Meta are expected on Thursday.
“It is widely expected that the Fed will keep interest rates stable and only slightly modify its press release,” said Art Hogan. On Wednesday, “Jerome Powell’s press conference will be closely monitored to discern any hawkish or accommodating inclination,” added the analyst.
The SMI ended up 0.35% at 11,429.83 points, with a high of 11,437.17 and a low of 11,360.28 at the opening. The SLI gained 0.31% to 1820.82 points and the SPI 0.27% to 14,879.75 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 18 rose and 12 fell.
Holcim (+4.7%) precedes Lonza (+2.6%) and Givaudan (+1.3%) on the podium of the day.
The construction materials giant plans to autonomize and list its activities in North America on the stock market by the first half of 2025. President and CEO Jan Jenisch has also decided to give up his hat to the head of the executive to Miljan Gutovic on May 1.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) raised Lonza’s recommendation to “sector perform” from “underperform” and significantly increased the 430 price target by 310 Swiss francs. Three other experts raised the price target with recommendations to “buy” and “outperform”.
Subsidiary of Nestlé (+0.9%), Nestlé Waters informed the French authorities in 2021 that it had used prohibited ultraviolet treatments and activated carbon filters on some of its mineral waters to maintain “their food safety “. The brands concerned – Perrier, Vittel, Hépar and Contrex -, all owned by Nestlé, are now “fully compliant with the regulatory framework applicable in France”, assures the company.
The two other heavyweights Novartis (+0.5%) and Roche (good -0.3%, buoyant -0.9%) developed differently.
Novartis reveals its annual results on Wednesday and analysts expect revenue of $11.7 billion for core profit of $3.3 billion.
ABB (+0.5%) announced that it was extending its partnership with the shipowner Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). The agreement covers 14 existing vessels and four buildings to be delivered between 2025 and 2028.
On the losing side, SGS (-2.5%) finished bottom, behind Alcon (-2.0%) and Logitech (-1.4%).
According to the Sunday press, the Zurich wealth manager Julius Bär (-1.1%) might announce Thursday, during the publication of its annual results, a depreciation “of around 400 million Swiss francs, possibly more”, linked to the troubled Austrian investor René Benko. This amount is significantly higher than what was previously announced by the bank.
In the broader market, the Ticino specialist in logistics equipment Interroll (-0.8%) recorded a decline in revenues in 2023. Management expects gross operating profitability (Ebitda) and operating margin (Ebit) in retreat.
Kinarus (+280% to 0.038 francs), in liquidation, and the Liestal Curatis laboratory are considering a reverse merger.
Pierer Mobility (unchanged) confirmed the slowdown in its operational profitability last year, following having confirmed at the beginning of January the clear slowdown in sales announced in December. The decline in surpluses is attributed to the ongoing restructuring in the bicycle segment, with the margin for motorcycles remaining in the middle of the targeted corridor of 8 to 10%.
The glass packaging specialist Vetropack (unchanged) has late commissioned a melting furnace at its Czech site in Kyjov. The installation was initially scheduled to start last fall.
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