DOW JONES–The Swiss stock market ended trading in the middle of the week with a sharp loss. The increased oil prices in particular weighed on sentiment. The price for a barrel of Brent rose by 5.6 percent to $117.43, just below the high of around $120 reached since the outbreak of the Iran war. Market participants saw the increase in connection with a note from US President Donald Trump to allies that they were preparing for an extended blockade of Iran. This means that the important Strait of Hormuz will likely remain closed.
Investors were also waiting for the upcoming monetary policy decisions from various central banks. In the evening, the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision was made, followed on Thursday by the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB), although no interest rate changes are expected overall in the context of increased inflation data and further weakening economic growth.
The SMI fell by 0.9 percent to 13,032 points. Of the 20 SMI values, there were 16 price losers and four winners. 27.07 (previously: 20.26) million shares were sold. When it comes to individual stocks, UBS shares were the daily winner in the SMI with an increase of 3.2 percent. The bank benefited from brisk trading activity in the first quarter amid increased market volatility and from more wealthy customers investing their money with the bank. That reassured investors about the bank’s performance as it nears the end of the Credit Suisse integration and seeks to cushion the impact of Switzerland’s plans to revamp its banking regulations, it said.
In contrast, the majority of the SMI values showed some significant reductions. Kuehne + Nagel fell by 3.9 percent, Lonza lost 1.8 percent and the shares of index heavyweights Nestle, Roche and Novartis fell by up to 1.4 percent.
Shares in elevator manufacturer Schindler closed 1.0 percent lower. The Finnish group Kone is taking over the German competitor TK Elevator for almost 24 billion US dollars. The transaction would create the world’s largest elevator manufacturer by sales. But analysts warned that the deal, which consolidates a market with four major players into three, could face regulatory hurdles.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2026 11:40 a.m. ET (3:40 p.m. GMT)
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