Listening: Weak US stock markets drag down Swiss market
The Swiss stock market came under significant pressure in early trading on Wednesday. The gloomy mood on Wall Street from the previous day spilled over onto the local stock market.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Schwache US-Börsen ziehen auch Schweizer Markt in die Tiefe
Original
The US stock markets had started September with weak prices the previous day after a public holiday. In particular, a poor ISM index – an important leading indicator for industry – led to losses. In addition, the market is noticeably cautious ahead of the publication of the US labour market report on Friday. This will set the tone for the Fed’s interest rate cut expectations.
“Many warnings have been ignored and the markets have overshot the mark,” said one market observer. The mood is in danger of tipping: it now remains to be seen how the US jobs data turns out and what the Fed’s most likely reaction will then be in mid-September.
The market is expecting an interest rate cut. The question is how big the move will be. For the time being, however, weak data is primarily fuelling concerns about a US recession, and interest rate cuts are not a “panacea”, according to traders.
The US technology exchange Nasdaq in particular suffered heavy losses on Tuesday due to a slide in semiconductor stocks. The shares of industry giant and AI flagship company Nvidia plummeted by almost 10%.
The most important Asian trading centres were also dominated by significant losses in the middle of the week. The slide in the Japanese Nikkei 225 in particular brought back memories of the global market slump at the beginning of August. At that time, however, they quickly recovered and have since more than made up for these losses.
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) lost 1.2% to 12,206 points at around 9.35am. With the exception of Swiss Life (+0.2%), all stocks in the leading Swiss index are weaker.
In the broad market, technology stocks such as VAT (-3.8%), Inficon (-2.1%) and Comet (-2.7%) were particularly hard hit. At Logitech (-1.4%), the power struggle between the company’s founder Daniel Borel and the Chairman of the Board of Directors Wendy Becker with the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday afternoon added to this.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
Precious archaeological vases and coins returned to Italian museum
This content was published on
The Italian authorities have recovered over 2,500 precious ancient coins, vases and small sculptures that had been illegally dug up and sold in Switzerland, Eurojust announced on Monday.
PrimeEnergy Cleantech declared bankrupt by Swiss authorities
This content was published on
PrimeEnergy Cleantech has been officially declared bankrupt, the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC) reported on Monday.
This content was published on
The consumption of antibiotics has risen in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to other European countries the Alpine country has one of the lowest levels of antibiotic usage.
Swiss financial watchdog foresees greater uncertainty due to geopolitics
This content was published on
The Swiss financial sector will face greater uncertainty due to the numerous geopolitical conflicts around the world, warns the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Swiss museums to mark centenary of death of painter Félix Vallotton
This content was published on
Swiss museums will celebrate the centenary of the death of the artist Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) next year. A major retrospective is planned in Lausanne, his birthplace, in autumn.
Russian mission installs more ‘spy’ antennas in Geneva, Swiss TV report claims
This content was published on
Russian spies are strengthening their presence in Geneva, according to a report by Swiss public television, RTS. Russian officials have placed new satellite dishes on their diplomatic buildings without authorisation.
This content was published on
Switzerland should join NATO, as in the future it cannot rely on its long-standing tradition of neutrality for its defence, John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, declared in an interview on Sunday.
This content was published on
A demonstration was held in Geneva on Sunday calling for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. Around 50 Russians took part in the gathering outside the UN building.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.