The corona virus continues to spread: meanwhile, in France, Austria and possibly even Switzerland People get the virus. This scares many and also has direct consequences for the Swiss economy:
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Luxury brands are particularly affected by the spread of the virus in China: the industry index lost 1.8 percent on Monday morning. On the one hand, investors are withdrawing, on the other hand, the travel ban for Chinese groups has a negative impact. “After all, a substantial part of luxury goods are bought while traveling,” explains ZKB analyst Patrik Schwendimann. Swiss brands are also feeling this: the Swatch share has lost 2.9 percent. The situation is similar to the 2002 Sars outbreak. “Back then, luxury goods sales suffered severely from the virus for a few months, but then quickly recovered. I think that could be similar with the corona virus, ”says Schwendimann.
The Corona virus is also not spared the stock market: On Monday, the Swiss leading SMI index fell in part by 1.12 percent to 10,642 points. According to UBS analysts, the main reason for this crash is the corona virus. Claude Maurer, an analyst at Credit Suisse, confirms this for 20 minutes: “The fear is evident on the financial market.” However, this setback is not yet problematic. Because of the political situation in the world, temporary setbacks on the financial market were to be expected regardless of the corona virus.
While the stock market and luxury brands are suffering from the spread of the virus, stocks in US pharmaceutical companies researching anti-coronavirus drugs are soaring: Biocryst’s stock rose 8.5 percent on Monday in pre-market business. At the vaccine provider Novavax, the value has risen by almost 20 percent. The US company Alpha Pro Tech, which offers mouthguards and protective masks, also benefits: the share rose over 24 percent to $ 7.48 within several days. Switzerland is also researching a vaccine against the corona virus, as the pharmaceutical association Interpharma confirms. However, the development of a vaccine is very complex and takes around a year.
Swiss tourism is suffering because the Chinese Ministry of Tourism has stopped selling group tours abroad. For example, Jungfrau Railways shares have sunk by up to 3.8 percent. “Places like Lucerne, Zurich and Interlaken will certainly feel the travel ban,” says Urs Wagenseil, tourism expert at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, in 20 minutes. The proportion of Chinese tourists there is high. However, local tourism will not collapse. “People from all over the world visit Switzerland and thus reduce their dependency on one country.”
Due to the corona virus, some investors speculate with low demand from China. That sends raw materials such as oil on the way down: For example, the Brent oil fell 2.25 percent to $ 59.38 a barrel on Monday morning. But you don’t feel it immediately on the Swiss petrol pumps, because in addition to the oil price, other factors such as government levies play a role play an important role in the price of petrol, which limits major fluctuations at the petrol pump, as UBS analysts explain on request.
Many investors are unsettled by the spread of the disease from China and are therefore investing in safe currencies such as gold. The price of gold rose by 1 percent within a few hours: a troy ounce was worth up to $ 1,586.43 on Monday, as Reuters writes. The Swiss franc is also considered a stable currency and is therefore slightly stronger. Corina Hennig, investment specialist at Bank Cler, assumes, however, that this is a temporary development, because the gold price has been due in the past few weeks of the Iran conflict has already risen sharply. However: “Increased uncertainty could certainly increase the upward pressure on the yellow metal.”
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