On Thursday, the Switzerland market closed essentially unchanged after a lackluster trading session. Investors were hesitant to make major moves due to a lack of new prompts. The benchmark SMI ended with a negligible loss of 1.40 points, settling at 11,230.43. The index fluctuated throughout the day, touching a high of 11,281.46 and a low of 11,173.64.
Shares in ABB rose by approximately 6.3%. This was due to a reported increase in the company's Operational EBITA for the first quarter, and an optimistic forecast for accelerated revenue growth in 2024. Other gainers were Sika, Givaudan, and UBS Group, which saw increases of 0.6 to 0.8%. Alcon and Geberit also edged up slightly.
However, Partners Group shares declined by 3.26%, while Richemont and Lonza Group ended lower by 2.5% and 2.34%, respectively. Logitech International, Zurich Insurance Group, Swisscom, Swiss Life Holding, and Novartis saw losses between 0.4 to 0.7%.
Within the Mid Price Index, Barry Callebaut saw a rise of around 4.3%, while Sandoz and Adecco gained about 2.3% and 2.25%, respectively. Other stocks that experienced gains included Lindt & Spruengli N, PSP Swiss Property, Schindler Holding, BKW, Lindt & Spruengli Part, Georg Fischer, Julius Baer, Temenos Group, and Avolta, with increases ranging between 1 to 1.75%.
Losses were seen for Tecan Group, ams OSRAM, and VAT Group, which ended down by 2.31%, 1.61%, and 1.01%, respectively. Swatch Group and Straumann Holding closed slightly lower.
In economic news, data from the Federal Customs Administration indicated a rise in Switzerland's foreign trade surplus to CHF 8.6 billion in the first quarter, up from CHF 8.1 billion in the last quarter of 2023. Exports rebounded 0.6% after a 0.5% decline in the previous quarter, while the drop in imports softened to 0.2%.
In March, the trade surplus increased to CHF 2.8 billion from CHF 2.3 billion in February. Exports and imports fell by 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively, compared to the previous month. In another report, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported that watch exports saw a year-on-year decrease of 16.1% to CHF 2.0 billion in March, contributing to an overall first-quarter decrease of 6.3% compared to the previous year.
