U.S. stocks were little changed in pre-market trading on Wednesday as investors awaited direction ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes due after European close.
Moderna’s shares surged 72% to $109.02 in pre-market trade after the company and Merck reported that their combination therapy reduced the recurrence and spread of melanoma compared to Keytruda alone in a late-stage trial. The treatment pairs Merck’s immunotherapy with Moderna’s personalized mRNA vaccine, tailored to tumor-specific mutations. Merck’s stock rose 5.5% in pre-market trading.
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) advanced 0.36% to 14,326 points, rebounding from earlier losses as defensive stocks provided support. The index had briefly slipped into negative territory, weighed by semiconductor weakness across Asia and prior U.S. sessions. Rising bond yields have increased financing costs for AI infrastructure investments, while persistent geopolitical risks in the Middle East continued to dampen risk appetite, traders said.
European natural gas prices climbed to their highest level since the early phase of the Iran conflict, with the front-month TTF contract trading at €64.60 per megawatt-hour in Amsterdam. The contract briefly spiked near €70 in March following the conflict’s escalation, up from around €30 before the war. Brent crude oil rose for a fourth consecutive session, reaching $92.05 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $86.
In Swiss equities, Geberit led gains with a 7.2% rise to CHF 567.60, the highest level since March 11, after the sanitary technology company beat half-year expectations and reported positive trends in its core European market. Implenia surged 9% to CHF 69.40 after posting results well above forecasts and raising its full-year guidance. Sensirion climbed 6.3% on an upward profit outlook, while LLB advanced 4%.
Defensive heavyweights such as Roche (+0.5%), Nestlé (+0.1%) and Novartis (+0.1%) also edged higher, reflecting a rotation toward safer assets. However, Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich each slipped between 0.2% and 0.7%, while UBS remained flat at +0.1%.
On the downside, Straumann fell 6.3% despite beating analyst estimates, as the departure of CEO Guillaume Daniellot weighed on sentiment. DocMorris dropped 2.6% after Julius Bär’s initial pre-market surge of nearly 9%, with UBS citing weaker reported earnings and negative free cash flow despite an improved annual outlook.
Burckhardt Compression declined 1.8% after announcing restructuring measures and layoffs amid low capacity utilization, following earlier job cuts announced in November. BKW fell 0.8% after lowering its full-year targets, while Emmi dropped 2.1% despite volume growth and a slightly raised revenue forecast, as concerns over second-half dynamics and U.S. business weighed on the stock.
Bond markets showed tentative signs of stabilization, with the yield on Germany’s 10-year Bund easing one basis point to 3.247%, after hitting a 15-year high on Tuesday. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell two basis points to 4.21% on Wednesday, following a two-basis-point drop on Tuesday amid weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data.
The SMI opened 0.21% higher, supported by defensive components, as investors navigated a backdrop of elevated bond yields, rising oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
