Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher After SNB Lowers Rate By 50 Bps

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market exhibited some weakness early on in the session on Thursday, and despite a smart recovery, failed to sustain momentum but still managed to end the day on a positive note thanks to some brisk buying at a few top counters.

The Swiss National Bank announced a bigger than expected 50-basis point cut in interest rate today. At the first policy meeting of Martin Schlegel as chairman, the policy rate was lowered to 0.5% from 1%. The new rate takes effect on December 13.

The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 11,783.78 around mid morning from an early low of 11,652.49, ended the session with a gain of 33.98 points or 0.29% at 11,715.95.

Lonza Group rallied nearly 5% after unveiling its new strategy and planned changes to its organizational structure at its investor update. The pharma company said that it will increase its focus on its core contract development and manufacturing organization business, reorganizing it into three new business platforms, and will also exit its capsules and health ingredients business.

Richemont gained about 1.5%, while UBS Group and Holcim closed higher by 1.13% and 1.08%, respectively.

Lindt & Spruengli, Alcon and Swatch Group posted modest gains.

Adecco closed 3.4% down. Kuehne + Nagel ended down 2.8%, and VAT Group closed with a loss of 1.42%. Partners Group closed nearly 1% down. while Swiss Life Insurance, Schindler Ps, Sika, Sandoz Group and Julius Baer lost 0.5 to 0.9%.

Amid easing inflationary pressures, the Swiss National Bank reduced its benchmark rate by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points to curb the strength of the Swiss franc.

The Swiss National Bank has cut its rates four times this year. The bank said underlying inflationary pressures decreased again and it will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will adjust its policy if necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term.

Further, the bank said it remains willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. However, the bank made no reference to the valuation of the franc.

The SNB today downgraded its inflation projections for 2024 and 2025. Inflation is expected to 1.1% in 2024, down from 1.2% estimated in September. The projection for 2025 was reduced to 0.3% from 0.6%. Meanwhile, the bank slightly lifted its inflation outlook for 2026 to 0.8% from 0.7%.

The SNB forecast the economy to expand around 1% in the current year. Growth is expected to pick up somewhat next year, albeit only slightly due to the moderate global economic activity, the bank said.

The SNB currently expects growth of between 1% and 1.5% next year. The bank had previously projected around 1.5% growth.

The policy statement implies that this would be the final rate cut of the cycle as it removed any mention of further cuts, Capital Economics' economist Adrian Prettejohn said.

However, the economist expects at least one more rate cut next year as policymakers will be forced to revise down their expectations for inflation over their forecast horizon.