Swiss Market Ends On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market, which held firm till well past noon on Wednesday after a steady start, suffered a setback in the final hour, but managed to recover in the closing minutes to sign off on a positive note. Easing worries about tariffs and some strong results helped underpin sentiment.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 50.29 point or 0.42% at 12,116.98. The index, which climbed to 12,158.24 around mid afternoon, dropped to a low of 12,018.00 before rising again.

Schindler Ps soared more than 9% on stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Orders rose 6% in local currencies to CHF2.95 billion, beating expectations for a 5% surge. Revenue rose 2.5% in local currencies to CHF2.73 billion, coming in 1% ahead of expectations.

SIG Group gained about 2.2%, while Givaudan, ABB, SGS, Geberit, Sonova, Swiss Re, Lindt & Spruengli, Zurich Insurance, Julius Baer, Swiss Life Holding, Nestle and Kuehne + Nagel climbed 1 to 1.7%.

Logitech International ended down 3.72%. The computer parts maker outlined plans to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs after reporting a 7% net sales growth for fiscal year 2025.

Sandoz Group closed lower by 2.45% after reporting a year-over-year decline in first-quarter net sales to $2.48 billion from $2.49 billion.

UBS Group shares ended down by 0.4%. The banking group repored that its net profit for the January-March 2025 quarter decreased year over year to $1.70 billion from $1.76 billion. Total revenue fell to $12.56 billion from $12.74 billion.

Partners Group and Straumann Holding ended down 1.7% and 1.47%, respectively.

In economic news, a measure signaling future turning points in the Swiss economy worsened in April, indicating that the outlook for the economy is considerably subdued, the results of a survey by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed.

The economic barometer dropped to 97.1 in April from a downwardly revised 103.2 in March.

"After an increase in the previous month, it now drops below its medium-term average for the first time this year," the KOF said.