Swiss Market Ends Flat After Lackluster Session

Swiss equities closed flat after a subdued session with investors reluctant to take positions amid a lack of fresh catalysts. The SMI finished marginally lower by 1.40 points at 11,230.43 after swinging between an intraday high of 11,281.46 and a low of 11,173.64. Individual movers included ABB, which jumped about 6.3% on stronger Operational EBITA and upbeat revenue guidance, while Partners Group, Richemont and Lonza were notable laggards. Additional mid-cap gains (Barry Callebaut, Sandoz, Adecco) were offset by declines among Tecan Group, ams OSRAM and VAT Group. On the macro side, Switzerland’s Q1 foreign trade surplus rose to CHF 8.6 billion and March trade data showed a monthly surplus of CHF 2.8 billion, but watch exports fell sharply 16.1% year-on-year in March. Overall market impact was muted, leaving the benchmark effectively unchanged.