Swiss stocks experienced a promising start on Friday, but by the end of the trading session, they had leveled off as investors, returning from their New Year hiatus, cautiously avoided making significant market commitments.
The primary index, SMI, concluded the session with a modest increase of 23.12 points or 0.2%, settling at 11,624.02. Earlier in the day, it reached a peak of 11,663.64, before dipping to a low of 11,547.13 in the final trading hour.
Among the top performers, UBS Group saw a notable rise of 2.63% after receiving an upgraded rating of "outperform" from BNP Paribas. Swiss Life Holding appreciated by 1.86%, SIG Group improved by 1.51%, and Partners Group finished with an increase of 1.26%.
Gains were also recorded in Zurich Insurance Group, Swiss Re, Sandoz Group, and Lindt & Sprungli, with shares climbing between 0.9% and 1.2%.
Conversely, Swatch Group's shares dropped by 4.52%, Richemont closed with a 2.65% decrease, and both Sika and Straumann Holding observed declines of 1.34% and 1.18%, respectively.
Additional declines were noted in Alcon, Geberit, Givaudan, Schindler Ps, and Julius Baer, which lost between 0.4% and 0.7%.
In the economic landscape, Switzerland's procure.ch Manufacturing PMI slightly decreased to 48.4 in December 2024 from 48.5 the previous month, slightly surpassing market expectations of 48.3.
