The Swiss stock exchange advanced on Friday despite weak overseas equity markets, with the SMI closing at a record high. Defensive shares were in demand, led by food producer Nestlé, which gained 2.3 percent to head the winners list. Givaudan rose 1.5 percent and Swiss Re added 1.7 percent. Pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche also moved higher, posting gains of 1.1 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Additional demand was seen in shares of Galderma, up 1.7 percent, Alcon, up 0.6 percent, and Lonza, up 0.5 percent.
Conversely, Swiss technology titles fell in unison, weighed down by weak leads from the US technology sector and ongoing market concerns regarding Logitech's outlook for the important Christmas quarter. Logitech shares dropped 4.1 percent to lead the sector lower. The technology weakness on Wall Street also dragged down ABB by 3.3 percent, alongside broader market issues including VAT down 5.0 percent, Belimo down 2.9 percent, AMS Osram down 6.3 percent, Inficon down 6.5 percent, Comet down 8.0 percent, and Huber+Suhner down 4.5 percent. Whether this weakness in the US tech sector will persist is expected to become clear the following week, with some American commentators noting that the worst may be over due to the passing of month-end portfolio realignments by institutional clients and the tendency of rapid sell-offs to form better bases than gradual declines.
Among individual movers, Landis+Gyr shares climbed 10.1 percent following its semester results release the previous evening, which showed an increased margin despite falling revenue and a correspondingly raised outlook for the full year. Barry Callebaut shares rose 4.1 percent. Meanwhile, Swissquote declined 3.4 percent, pressured by reports of a cyberattack on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance involving the theft of cryptocurrencies valued at over 6 billion US dollars.
In the United States, Intel headed toward the largest daily loss in its corporate history following a negatively received forecast that triggered a sector-wide sell-off. The US chipmaker's shares plunged by up to around 30 percent, threatening a loss of more than 137 billion dollars in market value. Competitors AMD and Nvidia fell by up to 10 percent, while server manufacturers like Dell and European heavyweights such as ASML also came under pressure. Hargreaves Lansdown chief analyst Matt Britzman stated that the current market motto is to sell first and ask questions later. Intel warned of triple-digit million-dollar revenue losses following an accident at an Israeli factory, and chief financial officer David Zinsner cautioned that cash flow would be negative for the year.
The Nasdaq 100 extended its decline, dropping by 2.9 percent to 28,557 points after just over an hour of trading, marking its lowest level since early August. The index turned negative for the week and widened its October loss to roughly 6 percent. Less technology-heavy indices fared better, with the broader S&P 500 falling 1.5 percent to 7,606 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping 0.6 percent to 52,007 points. DZ Bank experts noted that while the earnings season has been reasonable, results in the US technology sector, particularly among the Magnificent 7, have been less convincing, with good results no longer sufficient as high AI investments and cash flow developments drive differences. Amazon shares dropped by up to 6 percent before narrowing the loss to 2.4 percent following disappointing revenue figures from its AWS cloud division and high AI expenditures, as noted by UBS expert Stephen Ju. Sandisk shares fell 10 percent despite a strong interim report and high targets. In the secondary sector, internet stocks Roblox and Reddit experienced double-digit percentage drops due to disappointing user development, with Reddit losing a quarter of its market value.
Positive price movements were rare and concentrated in defensive sectors. Regeneron shares surged 11 percent from the pharmaceutical sector, competitor Gilead gained 3.4 percent, and food manufacturer Mondelez rose over 3 percent after reporting solid results. Electric vehicle maker Rivian was a positive exception in the technology sector, with its shares rising 5 percent following surprisingly good revenue figures and a narrowed sales projection, prompting a buy recommendation from Jefferies. Oil majors Chevron and Exxon each advanced 1.8 percent following quarterly reports, with Chevron benefiting from sharply higher crude oil prices and increased refinery margins.
