Swiss equities closed firmer Tuesday, defying a broadly negative global session driven by inflation and interest-rate concerns. The SMI rose 0.3% to 14,335 points, with six gainers and fourteen losers among its twenty constituents. Turnover reached 27.34 million shares, up from 23.09 million.
Novartis led the index higher with a 6.3% gain after the pharmaceutical giant published positive results from a phase III trial of a multiple-sclerosis therapy. Its larger peers dragged: Roche fell 1.5% and Nestle declined 0.4%.
Partners Group shed 7.3% after the asset manager released first-half results that Vontobel judged solid overall. Investors reacted negatively, however, to a lowered outlook for growth in performance fees.
Swiss Life dropped 0.7%. Its first-half results disappointed on several counts, JP Morgan noted, with adjusted net profit missing consensus estimates. Analysts had also expected a larger share buyback than the 250 million Swiss francs the insurer announced.
Among smaller-cap names, Dormakaba rose 4% after fiscal-year 2025/26 figures came within expectations. Straumann climbed 3.7% following a UBS upgrade to Buy.
