On Tuesday, the Swiss market closed modestly higher, following positive trends across European markets. This upward momentum was driven by continued optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve anticipated on Thursday.
The benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) fluctuated within a narrow range, peaking at 12,120.01 and dipping to 12,040.76, before closing the session with a gain of 37.31 points, or 0.31%, at 12,042.78.
Prominent gains were seen with Julius Baer rising by 4.65%, Straumann Holding increasing by 2.76%, and SIG Group advancing by 2.25%. Both ABB and Geberit concluded the day nearly 2% higher. Lindt & Sprüngli, Holcim, and Sika ended with gains ranging from 1.6% to 1.75%, while Logitech International added 1.41%.
Other notable performers included UBS Group, Swiss Life Holding, Richemont, Roche GS, VAT Group, Schindler Ps, Roche Holding, and Partners Group, all finishing the day on a strong note.
Barry Callebaut shares surged following Barclays' decision to upgrade the stock to "overweight" from "underweight." Barclays highlighted that the Swiss chocolate maker is poised to benefit from the normalization of cocoa prices amid a more favorable crop outlook.
Conversely, Lonza Group declined by approximately 2.1%. Other decliners included Sonova, Givaudan, Alcon, Novartis, Swisscom, and Nestlé, with losses between 0.3% and 0.6%.
