The Swiss Market Index rose 0.8 percent on Tuesday to close at 15,065 points, narrowly missing the record level of 15,093 points set previously. All three heavyweights in the index contributed to the gain, led by Novartis, which climbed 0.9 percent, and Nestle, which advanced 0.8 percent. Roche was a more modest contributor, rising 0.3 percent.
Support came from a recovery in technology and semiconductor stocks together with sharply lower oil prices. An observer noted that recent doubts about the momentum in the technology sector receded somewhat, though worries about steep artificial-intelligence investments and their profitability have not been fully dispelled.
On the energy side, Brent crude fell below $90 a barrel for the first time since late August. optimism was added by US President Donald Trump, who said the war with Iran was effectively over.
At the top of the SMI, shares of Richemont gained 3 percent, while Swatch rose 3.1 percent, both benefiting from positive sentiment in the luxury-goods segment. ABB advanced 0.8 percent, and construction-materials companies Holcim and Sika each rose 1.5 percent. UBS was in demand, climbing 1.7 percent, and Partners Group gained 0.7 percent.
Defensive names dampened part of the advance. Health-care stocks mostly faded, with Galderma carrying the red lantern after its recent rally, falling 1.1 percent. Alcon also declined, slipping 1 percent; it will report figures after US markets close.
Earnings continued to draw attention during the reporting season. Sunrise dropped 3.9 percent after posting quarterly results that broadly met expectations, although analysts pointed to intense competition as an ongoing risk despite noting an attractive valuation and dividend yield. PSP fell 0.5 percent; results stayed slightly below forecasts even though profit jumped, and the company maintained its annual targets.
Lem shares dropped 7.5 percent after its half-year report. Demand from data centres and strong profitability impressed investors initially, but a cautiously worded outlook pushed some sellers back in. BKW rose 1.7 percent on a interim report.
DocMorris was the day's standout winner on the broad market, surging 6.5 percent after ZKB raised its rating on the shares.
Gold gave back its early-week gains. In London trading, an ounce traded at $4,043, roughly $71 below Monday's level. The reversal followed firmer expectations for a US central bank rate increase in December after domestic inflation came in above forecasts.
In the United States, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8 percent in early trade to 27,695. Semiconductor stocks reversed some of the previous day's double-digit percentage recoveries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3 percent to 52,244, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent to 7,512.
October US consumer prices rose 0.4 percent compared with September, exceeding the 0.3 percent advance economists had forecast. James McCann, chief economist at Edward Jones, said underlying price pressures appeared to be rebuilding and that markets may have stopped pricing in part of the tightening cycle carried out by the Federal Reserve, suggesting policymakers might now consider a stronger degree of restraint.
Higher borrowing costs weighed particularly hard on technology shares, which are sensitive to expensive financing for growth companies. The US semiconductor index fell about 1.5 percent. Lower oil prices capped the extent of equity losses, with Brent falling back below $90 a barrel.
Nvidia again drew attention. CEO Jensen Huang faces allegations of a relationship with a woman believed to be linked to Chinese intelligence. The information site The Information reported, citing acquaintances of the suspect, that the woman helped transfer Nvidia high-performance artificial-intelligence processors worth $7.5 billion into China. The company said China denied the allegation and the FBI is investigating. Nvidia shares fell 3.6 percent on Tuesday; they had already dropped 4.3 percent the previous trading day.
US broker IG had the Dow Jones pointing flat at open and priced the Nasdaq 100 about 1.3 percent lower at 27,560 before trading.
Corporate events included the planned initial public offering of Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude. The company aims for a valuation of up to roughly one trillion US dollars, well below earlier market speculation. An investor said disappointment around artificial-intelligence valuations continued. AMD, Broadcom and Nvidia plan to invest up to 26 billion euros in Anthropic. Pre-market, AMD and Broadcom each gave up about 0.8 percent after the previous day's stronger recoveries, while Nvidia ticked up 0.3 percent after shedding more than 4 percent the prior session.
Groupon fell nearly 20 percent in pre-market trade after cutting its full-year revenue forecast. Electric-vehicle maker Lucid missed quarterly sales estimates, and its shares dropped about 3 percent before the bell. Rocket Lab posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss per share, and its shares fell 7 percent. Take-Two Interactive rose almost 5 percent after issuing a conservative outlook.
