Swiss Market Shows Ups and Downs Amid Central Bank Optimism

Swiss Market Rises Amid Monetary Easing Hopes. The market closed higher due to optimism about central bank actions, despite concerns over tariffs and a significant drop in Barry Callebaut's shares after lowered sales guidance.

Date: 22-01-2025

AI Rating: 6

Market Performance: The Switzerland market has closed firm, reflecting positive investor sentiment driven by expectations of further monetary easing by central banks. The benchmark SMI gained 96.73 points, a 0.8% rise, indicating strong performance across several stocks.

Winners: Notably, companies like ABB, Sonova, and Partners Group recorded gains between 2.3% and 3.72%. Other companies such as Swiss Re, Richemont, and Roche Holding also saw moderate increases of up to 1.5%. This trend of rising stock prices suggests strong investor confidence in these companies, likely reflecting positive future outlooks.

Losers: Conversely, shares of Barry Callebaut dropped significantly by 8%. The company lowered its sales volume guidance for fiscal 2025 despite reporting increased sales revenue of 3.45 billion francs compared to 2.24 billion francs in the prior year. This stark divergence may negatively impact investor perception and could influence future stock performance.

Monetary Policy Insights: Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel’s comments at the Davos forum suggest that the central bank is open to reducing interest rates even further to combat low inflation. With the current policy rate at 0.5%, such actions could bolster the market and encourage investments, potentially benefiting stock prices overall.

Stocks: ABB SONV PGHN ROG CFR CSGN