Swiss Market Ends On Weak Note

The Switzerland market closed weak on Thursday after languishing in negative territory right through the day’s trading session, amid concerns about global growth outlook in the wake of fresh tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Data showing an improvement in Swiss economic growth helped limit market’s downside.

The benchmark SMI closed down 84.17 points or 0.65% at 12,958.34. The index dropped to a low of 12,921.94 intraday.

Kuehne + Nagel closed down 4.52%. Adecco ended 4.3% down, and VAT Group drifted down 3.53%.

UBS Group closed lower by 2.05%. Alcon, Partners Group, Sika, Logitech International, Sandoz Group, Swatch Group, Lonza Group, Givaudan, ABB and Straumann Holding ended lower by 1 to 1.8%.

Richemont declined nearly 1%. SGS, Nestle, Holcim and Roche Holdings also closed weak.

SIG Group climbed nearly 3%. Julius Baer, Novartis, Swisscom and Lindt & Spruengli gained 0.4 to 0.7%.

Swiss Re ended modestly higher. Swiss Re announced that it posted a net income of $3.24 billion in 2024, higher than previous year’s $3.14 billion. Insurance revenue for the Group amounted to $45.60 billion, compared to $43.90 billion in 2023. Net income was $1.1 billion for the fourth quarter.

Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said Swiss GDP grew 0.5% from the previous quarter, following a 0.2% rise in the third quarter. The fourth quarter growth marginally exceeded the flash estimate of 0.4%.

On a yearly basis, economic growth softened to 1.2% from 1.3% in the prior quarter.

On the expenditure-side of GDP, private spending increased 0.5% sequentially on higher expenses on health, recreation and culture. Government spending also grew 0.5%.

The production-side of GDP showed that growth was driven roughly equally by industry and the services sector, the SECO said.

Manufacturing expanded 0.9% with growth particularly focused on the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The construction industry grew only 0.1%. The service sector registered a moderate growth, underpinned by a 3.5% rise in accommodation and food services sector.

In 2024, GDP grew 0.9% compared with 1.2% in the previous year. Unadjusted GDP growth of 1.3% was faster than the 0.7% rise in the previous year.