The Swiss market closed with a minor dip on Tuesday, performing somewhat better than other major European markets. The slightly better performance was attributed to the slowing Swiss consumer price inflation, which partially offset market downfalls.
Expectations of an impending interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve took a hit due to higher than expected U.S. consumer price inflation, negatively affecting market moods.
The Federal Statistical Office in Switzerland reported an unexpected decrease in consumer price inflation in January, marking its lowest level in over two years. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a year-on-year increase of 1.3% for January, a drop from the 1.7% recorded in December. Economists had predicted inflation to hold steady at the December rate. The January inflation rate was the lowest since October 2021, which recorded a 1.2% rise in prices.
Additionally, the inflation stayed within the Swiss central bank's target range of 0-2%.
The benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) lost 36.51 points, a drop of 0.33%, to close at 11,142.70. The index signaled positivity till past noon and reached 11,231.94 mid-morning before a dip to 11,100.88. It regained some of its losses towards the end of the session.
Geberit, Sika, and Richemont lost between 1.8% and 1.9%. UBS Group's shares fell by 1.5%. Shares of Sonova, Partners Group, Lonza Group, Holcim, Alcon, and ABB also saw a decrease within 0.7% to 1.3% range.
Swiss Re saw an increase of 1.5%, while Zurich Insurance Group's shares were nearly up by 1%. Swisscom, Logitech International, Roche Holdings, and Novartis also showed an upward trend.
In the mid-price range, ams OSRAM AG reported a 3.2% decrease. Julius Baer shares fell by 2.14%, and Straumann Holdings saw a 1.9% cut.
Shares of Swatch Group, VAT Group, Flughafen Zurich, Adecco, Ems Chemie Holding, Swiss Prime Site, Temenos Group and Clariant closed between 1% and 1.6% lower.
However, Sandoz, Meyer Burger Tech, and Lindt & Spruengli gained 2.25%, 2.15%, and 1.81%, respectively.
