FX.co ★ Swiss Market Ends On Buoyant Note; UBS Soars

The Swiss market closed strongly on Tuesday, driven by robust results and hopes for interest rate cuts, encouraging widespread buying.

The primary SMI index increased by 183.31 points, or 1.64%, closing at 11,512.97, just slightly under the day's high of 11,526.26. After two quarters of losses, UBS Group shares escalated by about 7.6%, as the bank reported a first-quarter net profit of US$1,755 million, a significant turnaround from the net loss of US$279 million in the previous quarter. In the same timeframe in 2023, the lender had posted a net profit of US$1,029 million.

Shares in Geberit increased by 4.7%, while Givaudan, Novartis, Partners Group, SIG Group, Roche Holdings, Sonova, Sika, Straumann Holdings, and Lindt Spruengli all experienced gains between 1.4 and 2.1%.

Zurich Insurance Group, Alcon, Swiss Life Holding, Julius Baer, Logitech International, Swiss Re, and Nestle also posted substantial gains.

On the downside, Sandoz Group's shares fell by 2.52%. Swatch Group saw a modest decline, with SGS's shares remaining flat.