The Swiss market concluded Friday's session with a slight upward movement, maintaining a narrow range slightly above the unchanged mark for the entire trading day. Market participants continued to evaluate recent economic indicators along with U.S. President Donald Trump's comments regarding possible new tariffs and a call for interest rate reductions.
The primary index, the SMI, edged up by 21.88 points or 0.18%, closing at 12,287.28, after fluctuating between 12,264.76 and 12,335.85.
Adecco saw an increase of 2.36%. SIG Group advanced by 2.05%, while shares of Holcim, Sonova, Lonza Group, Sika, Lindt & Sprüngli, and Straumann Holding rose between 1.1% and 1.6%.
The stocks of Swatch Group, Richemont, Sandoz Group, ABB, VAT Group, Julius Baer, and UBS Group appreciated by 0.4% to 1%.
Givaudan ended the day down by 3.12% despite reporting a notable increase in its full-year net income. The company announced a 22.1% year-over-year rise in net income for the year 2024, reaching 1.09 billion francs, with sales climbing to 7.41 billion francs from 6.92 billion francs.
SGS decreased by 1.51%, and Partners Group concluded with a loss of 1.03%. Kuehne + Nagel declined nearly 1%, while Zurich Insurance Group and Swiss Re posted slight losses.
In macroeconomic news, the HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI rose to 50.2 in January 2025, an increase from the 49.6 recorded in the prior month, which surpassed the predicted 49.7. The HCOB Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI climbed to 46.1 in January 2025 from December's 45.1, while the Services PMI saw a slight dip to 51.4 from 51.6 the previous month.
