The Swiss Market Index (SMI) closed 0.13% higher at 14,321 points on Tuesday, as gains in pharmaceutical stocks offset declines in industrial and mid-cap names.
Healthcare shares led advancers, with Roche gaining 1.45% and Novartis up 1.8%, while Nestlé added 0.6% and Alcon rose 2.5%. Swisscom advanced 1% after Barclays raised its price target to 460 francs from 440 francs. The broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) slipped 0.3% to 20,111 points, while the SMIM mid-cap index fell 0.9% to 3,149 points.
Among the day's laggards, ABB dropped 3% and Amrize fell 3.1%, while Holcim lost 2.2% and Sika declined 2.1%. Small- and mid-cap stocks showed mixed performance, with Basilea surging 10% following strong first-half results and raised full-year guidance. Medartis gained 6.4% after reporting half-year figures, while Skan advanced 6.8%. Huber+Suhner slumped 11% due to disappointing margin development in the first semester.
Global bond markets continued to pressure equities, with the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield reaching 5.321%, its highest level in 19 years. Germany's 10-year Bund yield climbed to 3.248%, the highest since 2011, while Japan's 10-year government bond yield neared 3%, a three-decade high. The Stoxx 600 in Europe fell 0.6%, while the DAX and CAC 40 each declined 0.6%. In Asia, the Seoul market rose over 3%, while the Nikkei dropped 1.6% and Shanghai was down 0.2%.
Commodities showed modest gains, with Brent crude at $91.23 per barrel and WTI at $85.06, up 0.32% and 0.7% respectively. Gold eased 0.5% to $4,391.14 per ounce, while the dollar strengthened against the yen at 159.49 and the Swiss franc at 0.8110.
