The Swiss Market Index (SMI) declined 1.1% to 14,384 points on Thursday, as profit-taking ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium weighed on large-cap stocks. The broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) also retreated, though select names such as Stadler Rail and Gurit bucked the trend with gains.
Partners Group advanced 2.2%, leading advancers in the SMI, while Lonza and Richemont eked out modest gains. Defensive heavyweights Nestlé, Novartis and Roche fell 1.7%, 2.0% and 1.2% respectively, extending declines from July’s peak of 87.09 francs for Nestlé. Credit Suisse downgraded Nestlé to market weight from overweight, citing concerns over growth and margin pressure.
Givaudan slumped 2.9% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating to underweight, citing weaker fragrance demand and limited margin expansion. Kühne+Nagel dropped 1.8% following a U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security probe into its Singapore-based unit Apex over alleged illegal shipments of Nvidia AI chips to China. The company confirmed the investigation to AWP.
In the SPI, Stadler Rail extended its rally with a 4.7% gain to a new 52-week high, while composites maker Gurit surged 14%, continuing its upward momentum. Losses were led by biotech firm Xlife Sciences, which fell 4.2% to an all-time low of 13.70 francs, alongside Centiel (-3.5%), Flughafen Zürich (-2.4%) and Implenia (-2.3%).
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.0% to 29,518, reclaiming its 50-day moving average, while the S&P 500 added 0.46% to 7,711 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.07% to 53,500. The advance followed Nvidia’s post-market surge of 7.3% after the chipmaker posted more than doubled revenue and net income in its latest quarter, driven by unabated demand for AI hardware. Nvidia’s outlook for the current quarter also topped expectations, with the company forecasting continued strong growth.
The rally in Nvidia lifted peers, with Intel and Arm Holdings gaining 4.5% and 3.0% respectively. Software names also benefited: Salesforce surged 21%, CrowdStrike climbed nearly 18%, ServiceNow added 9.2% and Okta jumped 22% after raising its annual guidance. HP Inc. lagged, falling 6% after its quarterly outlook missed expectations excluding U.S. tariff refunds, while Moderna dropped 4.2% to $143.31 after announcing a $2 billion convertible bond amid a recent rally to $176.66.
Analysts noted the market’s focus remained squarely on Jackson Hole, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak on Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose above the central bank’s 2% target in the prior session, keeping a September rate hike in play. "The music is now in Jackson Hole," said Jürgen Molnar, capital markets expert at Robomarkets. "The symposium often serves as a platform for key monetary policy signals."
