The Swiss market concluded positively last Friday, extending its upward trend for the third consecutive session. The optimism stemmed from expectations of an impending interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve.
Despite a somewhat shaky start, the benchmark SMI still finished moderately higher, although there were some pared intraday gains. The end of the day saw the index up by 26.43 points, or 0.23%, standing at 11,310.61, a slight drop off from the day's peak of 11,358.00.
Within the SMI index, Sika took the lead, rising by 2.83%. Holcim and ABB followed closely, witnessing gains of 1.68% and 1.65% respectively. Other gainers included Geberit, which increased by 1.3% and Swiss Life Holdings, which closed 1.11% higher.
Besides, Partners Group, Novartis, Roche Holding and Richemont also wrapped up the day a little higher, approximately 0.4 to 0.6%.
Despite reporting a spike in earnings for 2023, mainly attributed to an enhanced performance in its property-and-casualty reinsurance segment, Swiss Re saw a decrease of 2.56%. Meanwhile, Logitech International, Nestle, and Kuehne & Nagel experienced a drop ranging from 0.9 to 1%. Sonova and Lonza Group also saw their stocks drifting downward by 0.5% and 0.28% respectively.
Looking at the Mid Price Index, Swatch Group observed a surge of 2.25%. Straumann Holding, SGS, Sandoz, Georg Fischer, Schindler Holding, and Schindler Ps also gained between 1 and 1.4%.
On the other hand, Meyer Burger Tech saw a decline of 5.2%, followed by a 4.6% drop for Temenos Group and a 1.47% dip for ams OSRAM AG.
According to data unveiled by the Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland's industrial production decreased by 0.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, reversing from the previous three months' adjusted decline of 1.8%.
