The Swiss stock market opened higher on Monday, with the SMI gaining 0.7 percent to 13,873 points, recouping some of the more than 4 percent lost over the previous week. The broad SPI rose 0.5 percent to 19,555, while the mid-cap SMIM slipped 0.1 percent to 3,032.
The gain was driven by defensive heavyweights. Roche climbed 3.1 percent, bolstered by positive trial data and weaker results from rivals; Novartis advanced 1.9 percent and Nestlé added 0.9 percent. Analysts noted that uncertainty around artificial intelligence, a fresh oil-price spike and the upcoming US Federal Reserve rate decision were weighing on technology and cyclical names.
ABB fell 3.2 percent, leading the decline among Swiss equities. The industrial group is counted among Switzerland's "AI firms" because of its data-center products and came under pressure alongside other international AI-linked stocks. Other tech names also suffered: Inficon dropped 4.7 percent, Comet fell 6 percent, VAT declined 4.7 percent and AMS-Osram shed 6 percent.
Building-material stocks were hit by higher energy costs. Amrize fell 1.2 percent, while Holcim and Sika each declined 0.8 percent. Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel after Houthi advances near the Bab al-Mandab strait forced tankers onto longer routes around Africa, adding roughly 22 days to Asia-bound voyages and pushing charter and fuel costs sharply higher. Tanker rates reached record levels last week and bunker fuel is scarce. Around 80 percent of global trade moves by sea. A drone attack from Iraqi militants also struck Saudi Arabia's main east-west pipeline, which previously carried four to five million barrels per day.
In pre-market trading, 19 of 20 SMI constituents fell, with only Novartis trading higher by 0.3 percent. Julias Bär quoted the SMI at 13,765, down 0.1 percent, while IG Bank priced it at 13,764, also minus 0.1 percent.
Analyst actions provided further momentum. Bernstein raised its target on Siegfried to CHF 140 from CHF 126 and upgraded the stock to Outperform; Siegfried gained 4.3 percent. Goldman Sachs recommended buying Straumann shares, which rose 2.3 percent.
Gold retreated as inflation fears intensified. Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $4,334.31 an ounce, and US gold futures dropped 0.8 percent to $4,375.00. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said rising energy prices and higher rate expectations were creating headwinds for the metal, though he added that pullbacks could attract buyers given ongoing geopolitical and monetary-policy uncertainty.
Traders priced an 86 percent chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike at Wednesday's meeting, up from roughly 67 percent before last week's inflation data, according to CME FedWatch. A hike would mark the first increase since mid-2023. Investors are treating the decision as a test of credibility under Fed chair Kevin Warsh. The Bank of Japan is also expected to raise rates on Friday.
European indices opened lower: the Stoxx 600 futures fell 0.1 percent and the German DAX was projected to drop 0.3 percent. Swiss producer and import prices for August were due at 8:30 a.m., with no corporate results scheduled.
