Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note On Strong Retail Sales Data

Swiss stocks turned in a fairly steady performance on Friday on upbeat retail sales data, and amid optimism the Federal Reserve will announce an interest-rate cut in June.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 55.06 points or 0.48% at 11,493.92 after touching a low of 11,456.21 and a high of 11,529.24 in the session.

Data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed Swiss retail sales rose 0.3% year-on-year in January, marking the first increase since June 2023. In December, retail sales fell by a downwardly revised 0.1%.

Retail sales advaced 0.7% from a month earlier in January, recovering from a downwardly revised 0.3% drop in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Swiss procure.ch and Credit Suisse Manufacturing PMI rose to 44.0 in February from 43.1 in the previous month.

Holcim gained nearly 2%, and Richemont ended 1.81% up. Sonova climbed 1.54%, while Alcon, UBS Group and Sika ended higher by 1 to 1.25%.

Geberit, Nestle, Lonza Group, Novartis and Roche Holdings posted moderate gains.

Kuehne & Nagel tanked 13.5% after the logistics company’s fourth quarter results fell short of expectations. The company reported an after-tax profit of 283 million Swiss francs ($320 million) for the fourth quarter, compared to CHF494 million in the same period a year earlier.

In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech soared more than 17%. Clariant advanced 3.1%, while Straumann Holding and SIG Combibloc both gained about 2.25%.

Sandoz, Swatch Group, Tecan Group, Julius Baer, Ems Chemie Holding, VAT Group, Avolta, BKW and Swiss Prime Site gained 0.9 to 2%.

AMS OSRAM Ag ended nearly 2% down. Adecco and Galenica Sante drifted down by about 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

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