The Swiss market concluded Wednesday's trading on a downtrend, as investors demonstrated caution by reducing their stakes ahead of key forthcoming U.S. economic data releases. The primary index, SMI, decreased by 98.41 points, a drop of 0.86%, to close the day at 11,370.74, which was the lowest of the day.
Pharmaceutical company Roche Holding saw its shares fall by 4.4% after announcing a first-quarter sales decline of 6%. UBS Group's stocks also experienced a downward shift, decreasing by nearly 3%. Other companies experiencing losses ranged from 1.3 to 2%, and included Partners Group, Lindt Spruengli, Zurich Insurance Group, Julius Baer, and Alcon.
Swiss insurance company Swiss Re, telecommunications company Swisscom, watchmaker Swatch Group, and packaging provider SIG Group all finished the day down by 0.9 to 1.1%. Stocks of Lonza Group, Swiss Life Holding, logistics provider Kuehne & Nagel, and equipment manufacturer VAT Group decreased between 0.5 and 0.7%.
Companies that saw an increase in their shares include computer peripheral manufacturer Logitech International and specialty chemical company Sika, as well as flavor and fragrance producer Givaudan, inspection service company SGS, construction materials provider Holcim, and escalator and elevator producer Schindler Ps, with gains ranging from 0.4 to 0.9%. Pharmaceutical company Novartis, dental product manufacturer Straumann Holding, and automation technology provider ABB had slight increases.
In economic updates, a joint report from UBS and the CFA Society reported that Swiss investors' sentiment index climbed by 6.1 points, reaching 17.6 in April 2024, the highest level since September 2021.
