The SMI tries to follow up on the rebound of the day before
Tuesday, 03.31.2020
news-single-imgcaption" style="width:240px">The weakest performances were recorded by Swisscom (+ 0.4%), Richemont (+ 0.6%) and Geberit (+ 0.6%). (Keystone)
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The Swiss stock market opened higher Tuesday, in the wake of the solid performance of Wall Street and some rare encouraging signs on the front of the coronavirus pandemic. In Switzerland, companies are starting to review their growth and dividend projections.
The New York Stock Exchange ended higher Monday, consolidating the rebound from last week as the United States extended measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The flagship Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.19% and the Nasdaq appreciated 3.62%.
“The main American indices ended up yesterday evening in the wake of information according to which the new cases of contamination in Italy with the coronavirus would have reached the lowest in two weeks,” said John Plassard of Mirabaud Securities.
Some glimmers of hope also appeared on the economic side. The manufacturing activity index in China thus experienced a surprise rebound in March after an all-time low the previous month. But the World Bank now estimates that the expansion of the second largest economy in the world could plummet this year to + 0.1%.
At 9:08 am, the SMI appreciated by 1.64% to 9319.09 points, after having jumped 1.98% on Monday at the close. The SLI gained 1.61% to 1360.29 points carried by all of the star stocks in the index. The SPI increased by 1.57% to 11,336.18 points.
AMS (+ 5.1%) was on the top step of the podium, followed by Vifor (+ 4.1%) and Swiss Re (+ 3.8%). The latter was galvanized by a buy recommendation issued by UBS analysts. Until now, they advised to get rid of the reinsurer’s title.
Schindler (+ 3.5%) was driven by a large, unencrypted order in Australia.
Banking also advanced with Credit Suisse (+ 2.1%) and UBS (+ 1.4%), while heavyweights Nestlé (+ 0.9%), Novartis (+ 2.1%) and Roche (+ 2.6%) participated in the positive trend.
The weakest performances were recorded by Swisscom (+ 0.4%), Richemont (+ 0.6%) and Geberit (+ 0.6%). Societe Generale and Jefferies respectively lowered the price targets for the last two cities.
The expanded market was buzzing with several corporate results. Softwareone (+ 11.1%) flew away. The company posted solid revenue and profitability growth last year. Despite the difficulties linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the specialist in services and business consulting for the use of software has confirmed its objectives for 2022.
Ypsomed (+ 1.9%) progressed more modestly. The company has found a new customer for its Ypsomate auto-injector. The Israeli generic giant Teva is launching its innovative migraine prevention treatment Ajovy in combination with the 2.25 ml version of the versatile device from the Berthoud group.
Lindt & Sprüngli (BP + 3.4%) went back up the hill, after canceling its 2020 targets in view of the consequences of the coronavirus on its activities. The chocolate maker, however, maintains its special anniversary dividend and says it is ready to face the crisis. (awp)
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