The Swiss Market Index (SMI) declined 1.1% to 14,384 on Thursday, as defensive large-cap stocks underperformed amid profit-taking ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium. The broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) also retreated, though select movers included Stadler Rail, which extended its 4.7% gain to a new 52-week high, and Gurit, which surged 14%.
Partners Group led gainers in the SMI with a 2.2% advance, while Lonza and Richemont eked out modest gains. Heavyweights Nestlé, Novartis and Roche fell 1.7%, 2.0% and 1.2%, respectively. Nestlé has declined nearly continuously since reaching a 2024 high of 87.09 francs in mid-July, with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) downgrading its rating to market weight from overweight on Thursday. Givaudan dropped 2.9% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating to underweight, citing weaker fragrance demand and limited margin expansion potential. Kühne+Nagel fell 1.8% following reports of a US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) investigation into its Singapore-based subsidiary Apex over alleged illegal shipments of Nvidia AI chips to China.
In the SPI, Xlife Sciences led decliners with a 4.2% drop to an all-time low of 13.70 francs, while Centiel, Flughafen Zürich and Implenia also retreated. The SPI’s top performer was Stadler Rail, which rose 4.7% to a new 52-week high, while Gurit extended its recent rally with a 14% gain.
US tech strength lifted the Nasdaq 100 to 29,518, up 1.00%, as Nvidia’s 7.3% advance led the index following blowout quarterly results. The chipmaker’s revenue and net income more than doubled year-over-year, and it raised its outlook for the current quarter. Nvidia’s rally extended to peers, with Intel and Arm Holdings gaining 4.5% and 3.0%, respectively. Software stocks also benefited, with Salesforce surging 21% after raising its full-year guidance, CrowdStrike climbing nearly 18% on strong results, and ServiceNow gaining 9.2%. Okta rose over 22% after lifting its forecast.
The S&P 500 added 0.46% to 7,711, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.07% to 53,500. Markets remained cautious ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed officials are expected to signal policy direction. US inflation data released earlier in the week showed the core PCE deflator at 2.8% year-over-year, above the Fed’s 2% target, keeping a September rate hike in play.
Nvidia’s earnings report highlighted continued demand for AI infrastructure, with revenue rising 101% year-over-year to $26.0 billion and net income up 629% to $14.9 billion. The company forecast revenue of $28.0 billion for the current quarter, exceeding analyst expectations. The rally in US tech contrasted with weakness in Swiss defensives, as investors positioned for potential shifts in global monetary policy.
