The Swiss Market Index (SMI) finished Thursday at 14,394 points, a 0.22% advance from the previous close. The modest rise came despite higher crude‑oil prices, as Swiss investors looked to bond markets where sovereign‑bond yields eased slightly and awaited upcoming rate decisions from the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank.
Logitech led the index with a 3.3% gain, recovering from a 25% correction in July and testing higher levels on thin trading volumes. Roche added 2.1%, while Givaudan rose 2.4% after a positive Deutsche Bank study following its investor day. Swiss Life and Zurich Insurance each climbed more than 1.7%. Partners Group recovered 1.9% and Amrize edged up 0.4% after reporting weaker‑than‑expected numbers.
On the downside, Richemont fell 3.1% as analysts highlighted a broadly weak European luxury sector; Swatch slipped 0.5%. Nestlé dropped 1.0% after an early‑afternoon rally faded, and Novartis was flat to +0.3%. Lindt & Sprüngli declined 1.3% to a new yearly low, while biotech names Bioversys (-1.1%) and Xlife Sciences (-1.9%) also posted losses.
Among smaller‑cap moves, Romande Energie surged 3.3% on a sharp rise in half‑year earnings, the St. Gallen Cantonal Bank rose 2.9% and Gurit jumped 5.4% on continued buying interest.
In the United States, software stocks rallied sharply. Snowflake’s shares leapt roughly 21.5% after the cloud‑data platform raised its FY2027 product‑revenue outlook to $6.07 billion from $5.84 billion. ServiceNow gained more than 6%, Salesforce rose 3.1% and Adobe also moved higher. Commerzbank’s stock rose 2.5% to €41.69, its highest level since August 2010, on news of a €1.2 billion share‑buyback program slated to start Friday.
Wall Street opened higher on expectations of a continued Fed rate pause. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8% to 53,504 points, the S&P 500 added 0.5% to 7,712, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8% to 26,428. Fed Governor Christopher Waller signaled support for an additional pause if inflation progress continued, shifting market expectations for a September rate hike to about 54% from roughly 62% earlier in the week.
Oil prices rebounded after a brief dip, reviving inflation concerns and keeping market sentiment cautious amid ongoing Middle‑East tensions. Investors also looked ahead to Friday’s U.S. employment report for clues on the economy’s strength and the Fed’s next policy move.
Overall, the SMI’s modest gain reflected a market balancing solid performance in a few heavyweight names against broader weakness in luxury and consumer sectors, while global equity sentiment was buoyed by strong earnings and outlook upgrades in the technology segment.
