Tuesday, 1 October 2024 Reading time : 2 minutes

Three quarters of the year are behind us and the Swiss stock market has performed quite well so far: the overall market, as measured by the Swiss Performance Index (SPI), has gained 11.5% in the first nine months (total return, as of 30 September 2024). The SMI, which includes the 20 largest Swiss stocks, has performed even better, gaining almost 14% since the beginning of the year. 

The pharmaceutical supplier Lonza remains the SMI's top performer, with a gain of more than 50%. It is followed by ABB and Givaudan, which are both up more than 30%. 

Four SMI stocks are trading in negative territory at the start of the fourth quarter. The worst performer is the logistics company Kühne + Nagel (-20.4%), followed by Nestlé (-12.9%), Logitech (-5.3%) and UBS (-0.2%). Sika (+2.3%) is also underperforming the SMI.

While the SMI closed the last trading day of the third quarter with losses (-0.5%), the S&P 500 climbed to a record high on Monday. Since the beginning of the year, the US equity index has risen by 22.1%. 

The easing of interest rates by several central banks has supported global equity markets in the second half of September. The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points last week, while the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have also recently loosened their monetary policies. In addition, China's central bank has cut interest rates and adopted stimulus measures. 

The final three months of the year are likely to be busy. At the corporate level, the focus will be on third-quarter earnings. Attention will first turn to the US heavyweights, with major bank JPMorgan Chase kicking off the earnings season with its results on 11 November. In addition, leading central banks will once again discuss monetary policy in the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the US presidential election, which will take place in November, is likely to cause uncertainty.

Barrier Reverse Convertible on SMI Leaders
8.00% p.a. BRC auf Lonza, ABB and Givaudan
Barrier: 62%
Valor: 135 806 049

Barrier Reverse Convertible on SMI Laggards
8.50% p.a. BRC auf Kuehne + Nagel, Logitech and Sika
Barrier: 60%
Valor: 135 806 050

Indicative terms

Disclaimer
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