The Swiss Market Index closed 0.53 percent higher at 14,538.95 points on Monday. Following a friendly start and subsequent sideways movement around the 14,500-point mark, the benchmark index advanced toward the close of trading. Support came from declining oil prices, lower bond yields, and encouraging German economic data.
Out of the 20 SMI components, 14 finished in positive territory and six in the negative. The field was led by ABB with a 2.8 percent gain and Sandoz with 2.1 percent, with the generic drug maker scheduled to publish quarterly sales on Wednesday. They were followed by Roche, which rose 1.4 percent, and Richemont at 1 percent. On the losing side, Sika dropped 2.2 percent, Givaudan fell 1.3 percent, and Swiss Re lost 0.4 percent.
Roche supported the index thanks to positive study data for its lung cancer drug Divarasib, while Nestlé edged up 0.1 percent and Novartis declined 0.4 percent. Ahead of its quarterly figures expected on Tuesday, Novartis also traded under the impression of mixed detailed data for its multiple sclerosis medication Remibrutinib. Among construction-related stocks, Holcim finished almost unchanged with a 0.1 percent gain following Friday's price jump, whereas Sika continued profit-taking after its quarterly results on Friday.
In the broader market, the Swiss Performance Index advanced 0.6 percent to 20,507.95 points. Kuros gained 3.5 percent, continuing its recovery following favorable quarterly figures, while Idorsia climbed 3.6 percent after announcing a research program for Quviviq in autism. VAT rose 2.4 percent despite a price target reduction from Berenberg. Kühne+Nagel gained 2.5 percent after UBS raised its price target to 230 francs. Burckhardt lost 1.5 percent following a downgrade by Kepler Cheuvreux, Bystronic dropped 8.1 percent, and Swiss Prime Site gave up 0.6 percent after announcing new medium-term targets and the complete takeover of FlexOffice. Aryzta added 0.4 percent while announcing the closure of two German plants and the elimination of about 600 jobs.
The spot price for gold rose 0.6 percent to 4,018.81 dollars per ounce, recovering from a more than three-month low recorded in the previous session. Declining oil prices helped dampen inflation concerns ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve meeting. On Friday, spot gold had hit 3,975 dollars, its lowest level since July 20. US gold futures for December delivery increased 0.7 percent to 4,033.60 dollars per ounce. StoneX senior market strategist Bob Haberkorn noted that a slight pullback in crude oil aided gold alongside bargain hunters entering the market, adding that trading is expected to remain calm around the 4,000-dollar mark awaiting the central bank decision.
Tesla shares climbed 6 percent on Monday as Barclays analyst Dan Levy upgraded the stock from 'Equal Weight' to 'Overweight', citing potential upside from the automaker's core business prospects alongside discussion of a possible merger with SpaceX. Levy noted that the company's core business has returned to growth this year after two years of declines, expecting further potential in 2027 driven by demand for Full Self-Driving software and rising exports from Giga Shanghai. Furthermore, Tesla stated that its energy business is nearly sold out for 2027 due to robust data center demand, with Barclays projecting over 50 percent growth in energy storage deliveries.
Petrobras and Braskem shares plunged heavily in early trading following the unexpected election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of Brazil. Petrobras lost 17.8 percent, and Braskem crashed 38.8 percent as many investors had bet on the opposite outcome. Despite investor fears regarding expansive fiscal policy under Lula's renewed term, several brokerages including UBS Global Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup quickly issued optimistic recommendations for Brazilian assets, with Panmure Liberum analyst Callum Stokeld noting that market reactions might be exaggerated given a notable shift to the right in concurrent congressional and senatorial elections.
At Wall Street's opening, indices advanced following Friday's losses as slightly retreating oil prices provided relief. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent to 52,398 points, and the S&P 500 increased 0.4 percent to 7,656 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 continued its stabilization attempt from a one-month low, climbing 0.3 percent to 29,052 Zähler, with the new trading week dominated by expected quarterly reports from major US tech firms including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon. Meta Platforms gained 2.4 percent after announcing a common and preferred stock offering valued at up to 95 billion US dollars, while Apple experienced profit-taking with a 1.7 percent drop. In Europe, the DAX traded nearly one percent higher at 25,385 points around midday, and the EuroStoxx 50 gained nearly half a percent to 6,094 points, bolstered by improved sentiment among German corporate executives.
