Swiss shares fell on Tuesday as Novartis slid after a second consecutive clinical setback, while Nestlé and several capital-markets-day names provided support. The SMI was down 1.3% at 11:40 to 14,094.20 points, after opening 1.0% lower and having closed 0.8% lower on Monday, when US markets were closed for a holiday. The SMIM was up 0.6% at 3,081.94 and the SPI was down 0.9% at 19,881.15. European markets were also lower, though less sharply. US futures were weaker, with Dow Jones futures down 0.8%, S&P 500 futures down 0.3% and Nasdaq futures unchanged.
Novartis was the main drag on the SMI, falling 9.8% and at one point dropping more than 10% to 112.54 francs. The shares had already lost 3.2% on Monday after Pelacarsen missed its primary endpoint. The new setback came after Del-desiran, a candidate for myotonic dystrophy type 1, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase III study. Vontobel called the result a clear setback for the pipeline, while the company's confirmed medium-term revenue guidance offered little support. The decline was heading toward the largest daily market-capitalization loss in the company's history, with roughly 24 billion francs of value erased, more than in the declines after the euro minimum rate was lifted or during the coronavirus crash. The shares had reached a record 132.68 francs the previous week.
Nestlé was the main support, rising 2.7%, with Roche up 0.8% and Givaudan up 0.7%; 9 SMI gainers faced 11 losers. Sandoz gained 2.0% after presenting new growth targets to 2030 and saying it would expand its biosimilars business. Oerlikon rose 0.4% after presenting medium-term targets; UBS said its goals of more than 2 billion francs of revenue and an adjusted EBITDA margin above 20% by 2030 were slightly above expectations but realistic. Ascom jumped 7.6% after winning a seven-year order from Norway worth about 80 million francs, which ZKB called a major success. SoftwareOne rose 4.1% after Kepler Cheuvreux raised its target price and said the turnaround was on track. Galderma and Gurit also gained on positive analyst comments and target-price increases, while SFS and Bachem rose on target-price hikes.
On the losing side, Burkhalter fell 6.3%, giving back most of its previous-day gains, while technology shares including VAT, Inficon and Comet were under pressure. New target prices included ABB at 84 francs from 82 at HSBC with a Hold rating, and Lonza at 730 francs from 680 at Barclays with an Overweight rating.
Oil and rates remained key market drivers as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz persisted. Hopes for a tanker corridor remained offset by military risks. Brent crude rose above 99 dollars a barrel, the highest since mid-July, putting the 100-dollar level within reach. A trader said the market remained strongly driven by oil prices and interest rates, and that risk appetite would stay limited while Middle East tensions and high energy prices persisted. Investors also looked ahead to the ECB decision on Thursday, where a 25-basis-point hike to 2.5% was seen as certain, with focus on guidance.
Copper also hit a record, with LME prices reaching 14,533 dollars a tonne on Monday evening, above the early-year high. The metal had risen more than 40% in a year and tripled over a decade. Supply concerns were cited, including a 9.4% year-on-year fall in Chilean production, according to Commerzbank, and earlier mine incidents in Chile and Indonesia. Demand expectations were supported by power grids, electric vehicles, the energy transition, AI data centers and defense applications.
