Switzerland's equity market opened the new week lower. The SMI closed down 0.8% at 14,279 points after a weak start, although it briefly climbed to an intraday high of 14,350 shortly after 15:00 before slipping again. Thirteen of the 20 SMI constituents finished in the red. A Phase 3 setback at Novartis and higher oil prices weighed on sentiment, while the holiday closure of US markets left the afternoon without a clear overseas cue.
The heaviest SMI drags were Swiss Re, down 3.6% after the reinsurer warned at an industry meeting in Monte Carlo of rising costs from extreme weather, and Novartis, down 3.2% after the late-stage study of its cholesterol-lowering drug Pelacarsen failed. ABB led the gainers at 1.6%, supported by Asian semiconductor optimism, while Kühne+Nagel rose 1%, or 1.1% in one intraday update. Among other heavyweights, Roche fell 1% and Nestlé gained 0.6%, providing some support. Construction and materials stocks were relatively firm: Sika added 0.7%, Geberit was unchanged and Holcim lost 0.1%.
Smaller Swiss names moved on analyst actions and company news. Arbonia jumped 11.3% after UBS upgraded the shares to Buy, while Burkhalter rose 1.8% following half-year results. ams-OSRAM gained 5.3%, Huber+Suhner 4.4% and VAT 2.8%. R&S Group fell 5.3% after the unexpected departure of its chief executive, and Schindler was lower after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company over continued weakness in China. Goldman Sachs cut the target price to 233 francs, citing persistent China weakness, largely exhausted efficiency-program effects and limited prospects for additional payouts. Schindler shares were down 2.7% in one summary and later 1.7% lower at 256.20 francs.
Novartis' Pelacarsen was intended to show that reducing a specific form of cholesterol would also lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes; the trial did not achieve that. Analysts have removed Pelacarsen estimates from their models, where the drug had been assigned peak sales of $1.3 billion to $2.0 billion. Amgen shares had fallen 5% on Friday; the US rival has a similar drug in research. Roche was also down 1.3%, Lonza 1.2% and Sandoz 0.5%; Sandoz holds an investor day on Tuesday, with expectations that the Basel-based company will set a high bar for medium-term targets.
Earlier in the session, the SMI was down 0.75% and later 1.00% lower at 14,251, while the SPI fell 0.89% to 20,027. Novartis was down 2.6% in one update and 3.2% at the close. US markets remained closed on Monday for a holiday. In after-hours trading, the Dow Jones fell 0.52%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17% and the Nasdaq 100 was near zero. Investors were still digesting Friday's strong US jobs report, which renewed expectations for higher US interest rates and made non-dividend-paying stocks less attractive. The dollar fell 0.15% to 80.89 Rappen, after trading above 81.00 Rappen earlier on Monday.
The S&P 500 has lost on the first trading day after Labor Day in every year from 2017 through 2025, according to Bluekurtic Market Insights. The index has ended the full Labor Day week in positive territory in only three of those nine years. Across the 2000 to 2025 dataset, four-day weeks after Labor Day have averaged a 0.4% decline, with a median return of 0.8%.
Goldman Sachs said oil could rise to $120 a barrel if attacks on shipping in the Middle East increase, and recommended bets on natural gas and diesel to capture gains. Daan Struyven, co-head of commodity research, said in a Bloomberg interview that recent events showed the risk of expanded and intensified shipping disruptions was significant. If regional exports return to normal, he said oil could fall to $80 a barrel.
Nike will leave the S&P 100 on September 21 as part of the quarterly index adjustment, ending a membership of almost 18 years. Dell, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks and SanDisk replace Nike and three other companies. Nike remains in the S&P 500, but its market value has fallen to about $57 billion after a period of weak growth. Revenue was largely flat at $46.4 billion in fiscal 2026, while Nike Direct, online sales and the China business declined.
LVMH shares are still searching for a bottom and reached their lowest level in six years on Monday, at times trading at 423.75 euros. The decline has extended beyond a short correction: since the start of 2026, the stock has fallen from above 900 euros to 424, a drop of about 53%. The stock is in a clear long-term downtrend. The broader luxury sector is under similar pressure, with the STOXX Europe Luxury 10 down about 19% year to date. Investors are increasingly cautious about the pace of a possible recovery. China remains a key market for luxury brands. Bernstein analysts, including Luca Solca, warned that the modest recovery in Chinese luxury spending over the past four quarters could pause again.
