Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market closed higher on Monday, in line with most of the markets across Europe. Investors digested data on retail sales, and a reading on the nation's manufacturing activity.

The benchmark SMI, which edged down to 11,723.61 in early trades, climbed to a high of 11,862.41 around mid afternoon and finally settled at 11,82924 with a gain of 65.04 points or 0.55%.

Richemont rallied 2.57%. Sika climbed 1.84% and Swiss Re gained 1.58%, while Logitech International and ABB both gained nearly 1.5%.

Holcim gained 1.2% after the company agreed to sell its 83.81% interest in Lafarge Africa to Huaxin Cement for an equity value of $1 billion. The transaction is anticipated to complete in 2025.

Kuehne + Nagel closed up 1.28%. Zurich Insurance Group, Geberit, Schindler Ps, Givaudan and Lonza Group posted moderate gains.

Sandoz Group closed down by about 3.1%. VAT Group and Julius Baer ended lower by 1.45% and 1.3%, respectively. Swatch Group, Alcon and Swisscom ended modesty lower.

In economic news, Switzerland's procure.ch Manufacturing PMI fell to 48.5 in November 2024, down from 49.9 in the previous month and compared to market expectations of 49.4.

Swiss retail sales increased for the fourth straight month in October, though at a slightly slower-than-expected pace, data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed.

Retail sales climbed 1.4% on a yearly basis, after a 1.8% increase in September. Sales of food, drinks, and tobacco registered an annual growth of 0.3%, and the non-food sector posted a 3.2% gain.

Month-on-month, retail sales dropped 0.1% in October versus a 0.7% fall in September. This was the second successive monthly increase.

In nominal terms, retail turnover registered an annual growth of 0.1%, and sales were down 0.2% over the month.