Swiss stocks experienced a rebound on Wednesday as investors evaluate the latest US inflation data while anticipating decisions on interest rates from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the European Central Bank (ECB). The Swiss Market Index posted a gain of 0.34% by the close of trading. Both the SNB and ECB are expected to implement a reduction of key rates by 25 basis points in the coming session.
In the United States, the annual inflation rate increased to 2.7% in November, slightly up from 2.6% in October, aligning with the anticipated figures. The consumer price index rose 0.3% on a monthly basis during November, following a consistent growth of 0.2% over the preceding four months. "In terms of implication for policy, the jobs market is cooling and the Federal Reserve repeatedly acknowledges that monetary policy is still in restrictive territory.
As such, the Fed appears happy to gradually move policy closer to the neutral level of around 3% and we expect another 25bp rate cut next week," stated ING. "However, the lack of meaningful progress on inflation means that in their summary of economic projections, officials are likely to signal just three rate cuts in 2025 versus the four they projected in September." In corporate developments, ABB obtained a contract to implement its ArcSave electromagnetic stirrer on Çolakoğlu Metalurji's electric arc furnace at the steelmaker’s facility in Türkiye.
The operational launch of the stirrer at the plant is anticipated for the fourth quarter of 2025. The electrification and automation company's shares rose by 1.29% by the end of the trading session. Additionally, Eli Lilly's stock surged by 6.82% following the announcement of promising results from its investigational oral medication imlunestrant for advanced breast cancer, which demonstrated a 38% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death as a standalone therapy, compared with standard endocrine treatment, during a phase 3 Ember-3 trial.
When combined with Verzenio, imlunestrant further decreased the risk by 43%..