The Swiss stock market opened clearly in positive territory on Monday, with the SMI gaining 0.6 percent to 13,854 points and the broad-based SPI advancing 0.5 percent to 19,553 — a first counter-reaction after last week's sharp decline of more than 4 percent.
Two pharmaceutical heavyweights led the advance. Roche climbed 2.2 percent and Novartis gained 1.6 percent. Other defensive names also performed well, with Swiss Re up 1 percent and Nestlé up 0.9 percent.
At the other end of the tableau, ABB fell 3.3 percent. The industrial group, classified among Swiss "AI companies" because of its data-center products, dropped in line with other international AI-linked shares at the start of the week. Broader tech names also suffered: Inficon, Comet and VAT each fell 3.3 percent, while AMS-Osram also posted clear losses.
Construction-materials stocks were similarly weighed down by rising oil prices. Amrize fell 1.2 percent, Holcim shed 0.8 percent and Sika declined 0.8 percent.
Pre-market analyst commentary provided additional move drivers. Goldman Sachs issued a new buy recommendation on dental-implant maker Straumann, which rose 2.3 percent. Bernstein adjusted its price target on Siegfried upward, pushing the share up 4.3 percent.
Oil prices added to the headwinds. Brent crude rose back above $107 per barrel following Houthi advances near the Bab al-Mandab strait. Although tankers can still use the Suez Canal or round Africa, doing so extends voyages to Asia by roughly 22 days and significantly raises charter and bunker costs. Tanker rates hit record levels last week and bunker fuel remains scarce. Around 80 percent of global trade moves by sea. Meanwhile, drones from Iraq struck a major east-west Saudi Arabian pipeline that previously carried four to five million barrels per day.
The price environment complicates the outlook for the US Federal Reserve, which meets this week. Markets now price an 86 percent probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike on Wednesday, the first increase since mid-2023. Traders raised their odds from roughly 67 percent before last Friday's unexpectedly high US consumer-price data. JPMorgan US chief economist Michael Feroli said he expects two hikes this year, in September and December, warning that credibility would be at risk if the Fed fails to follow through on its announcements.
Gold came under pressure from the combination of surging energy prices and higher rate expectations. The spot price fell 0.3 percent to $4,334.31 an ounce, extending a third consecutive weekly loss. US gold futures dropped 0.8 percent to $4,375. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, noted that rising energy costs and anticipated Fed and Bank of Japan tightening created headwind for yields, though he added that pullbacks should attract buyers given gold's role as a hedge amid ongoing geopolitical and monetary-policy uncertainty.
The Bank of Japan is also widely expected to raise rates on Friday, supported by stubborn inflation and resilient growth.
In pre-market trading, the SMI was quoted 0.1 percent lower at 13,765 by Julius Bär, with 19 of 20 components in the red; only Novartis edged up 0.3 percent, while losses among the other blue chips ranged between 0.1 and 0.2 percent. IG Bank priced the index 0.1 percent lower at 13,764. Broad-market futures also slipped about 0.1 percent. The biggest pre-market moves were expected in ams Osram (-1.8 percent), BB Biotech (-1.1 percent), Comet (-1.9 percent), Huber+Suhner (+1.4 percent), Inficon (-2.6 percent), Straumann (+2.2 percent) and VAT (-1.2 percent).
European indices also opened weak. The Stoxx 600 futures were 0.1 percent lower, and the German Dax was projected to fall 0.3 percent.
Asian markets reflected similar nervousness. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 63,498.61, while the Topix rose 0.7 percent to 4,054.89. Shanghai was flat at 3,888.18, and the CSI 300 dropped 0.4 percent to 4,493.64. In currency trading, the dollar gained 0.3 percent to 154.03 yen and rose to 0.8176 Swiss francs. The euro fell 0.1 percent to 1.1584 dollars and 0.947 Swiss francs.
Swiss producer and import prices for August were due at 8:30 a.m., while no company results were scheduled.
