2023-12-01 08:38:03
Zurich (awp) – The Zurich Stock Exchange started the last month of the year on the right foot, continuing the positive trend of the day before. Swiss GDP, one of the many macro indicators on the program for December 1, started to rise again in the third quarter.
In Gaza, fighting resumed between the Israeli army and Hamas after the expiration of the ceasefire.
Despite a scattered close on Thursday, Wall Street indices have progressed well in recent weeks. “We bid farewell to a very profitable month of November for both stocks and bonds,” underlines Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, who wonders if the markets will still have enough breathing room to gallop until the end of the year.
Macroeconomic data will take center stage on the first day of the last month of the year. In Japan, the unemployment rate fell in October to 2.5% of the working population. Manufacturing activity in China grew in November at its fastest pace in three months.
In Switzerland, GDP increased by 0.3% in the third quarter. On the inflation front. The Federal Housing Office raised the benchmark mortgage rate to 1.75% from 1.50% paving the way for rent increases.
Around 9:15 a.m., the Swiss Market Index (SMI) gained 0.51% to 10,911.17 points, the Swiss Leader Index (SLI) 0.38% to 1723.07 points and the Swiss Performance Index (SPI) 0.41 % at 14,294.11 points. Of the 30 star stocks, 20 gained ground and nine lost ground, with VAT Group remaining in balance.
Swiss Re lost 0.7% on the sidelines of its investor day. The world’s number two reinsurer has raised its forecasts and now expects a profit of more than $3.6 billion next year. The life reinsurance activity (L&H) must contribute 1.5 billion.
UBS (+0.8%) seemed to benefit from a positive comment from Goldman Sachs. Swatch (+0.2%) saw its price target reduced by Bernstein, who raised that of competitor Richemont (+0.8%).
In the heavyweight camp, Novartis (+1.1%) and the good Roche (+1.0%) supported the index, while Nestlé (+0.3%) fell behind.
In the broader market, Swiss Prime Site (-0.1%) purchased an office building in Zurich, near the Prime Tower, generating around 7 million Swiss francs in rental income per year.
Leonteq fell by 13% after a profit warning. The structured products specialist has reformulated its annual objectives and now plans to close the 2023 financial year with a consolidated profit of between 10 and 20 million Swiss francs, while it was targeting a pre-tax profit of 40 to 70 million until now .
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