Swiss stocks began the new trading week on a downward note as investors brace for upcoming monetary policy announcements from the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank ($SNBN). The Swiss Market Index ended Monday's session with a decline of 0.16%. Analysts at BofA Securities commented, "The ECB should cut 25bp, and at each meeting thereafter until the depo rate is at 1.5% in September 2025.
Data dependence will stay but will come with directional guidance to a return to neutral." They further noted that the SNB may cut by 25bp and pause at a terminal rate of 0.5% by March 2025, indicating that the potential December cut—whether by 25bp or 50bp—is a closely contested decision. The consumer sentiment index in Switzerland fell to -37.2 points in November, down from -37 in October, with recent figures exceeding consensus estimates of -38 points as reported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
In a notable development, Switzerland has revised its science and research partnership with the UK, unveiling a £16 million joint funding initiative supporting 11 research projects targeting advancements in treatments and diagnoses across various diseases. On the corporate side, ABB ($ABBN), known for its electrification and automation solutions, announced a minority investment in Austria-based Engineering Software Steyr.
This partnership aims to develop simulation tools for automotive paint shop operations, and ABB shares experienced a slight decline of 0.12%. In clinical developments, Roche ($ROG) reported five-year follow-up results from the phase 3 Polarix study that investigated the effectiveness of combining Polivy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone for treating untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
The data revealed a positive overall survival trend among patients in the intent-to-treat population, with a reduction in the need for follow-up treatments compared to the standard R-CHOP approach. Roche's stock reflected this data, rising by 0.08% at the close..