The Swiss Market Index closed 0.5% higher at 14,387 points on Wednesday, lifted by defensive bellwethers and sharp gains in Geberit after the plumbing supplier reported strong half-year results and raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Ten of the 20 SMI components finished in positive territory, while nine declined and Swisscom was unchanged. Geberit led with a 7.4% advance, followed by Lonza at 2.4% after positive biotech study news and Partners Group at 1.3%. At the other end, Alcon fell 1.6%, while insurers Swiss Life, Zurich Insurance and Swiss Re declined 1.4%, 1.2% and 0.9% respectively.
Pharmaceuticals provided broad support: Roche gained 1.8% and Novartis 1.2%, with Novartis also benefiting from pre-ESC Congress data announcements. Nestlé added 0.2%. Among cyclicals, Amrize rose 0.9% and Sika 0.2%, while Holcim fell 0.5% and Richemont lost 0.9%.
In the mid-tier, Implenia surged 6.3% after posting better-than-expected operating earnings, matching Skan’s 6.3% gain and Liechtensteinische Landesbank’s 6.4% rise. Straumann dropped 2.5% despite solid results amid an unexpected CEO departure, Emmi slid 4.7% on concerns over U.S. operations and weaker second-half momentum, BKW fell 2.4% on lowered earnings guidance and Burckhardt Compression lost 3.4% following job-cut plans.
U.S. markets were volatile after Moderna and Merck & Co reported that their personalized melanoma vaccine, Intismeran Autogene, combined with Merck’s Keytruda, reduced recurrence rates more than immunotherapy alone. Moderna’s stock jumped 118% to lead global biotech gains, while Merck & Co rose 10%. Biontech advanced over 20%.
Marvell Technology rallied 7.6% after announcing a chip-development partnership with Alphabet that includes a $12.2 billion equity option for the search giant, pressuring Broadcom, which fell more than 5%. Estee Lauder surged 16% on quarterly results that beat expectations and an upgraded adjusted operating margin target for 2027 to 13.1% from 12.75%, with organic revenue up 5% in the quarter and four consecutive quarters of growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 53,681, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2% to 29,552 and the S&P 500 added 0.4% to 7,748. U.S. Treasury 30-year yields eased after the Treasury announced expanded bond buybacks aimed at capping long-end yields.
Net interest payments by the U.S. reached 3.3% of GDP in 2026, the highest since records began and up from 1.3% in 2021, according to Barchart data based on Bloomberg and official figures.
