PARIS/LONDON/ZURICH (dpa-AFX) – The European stock market did not make any big jumps on Thursday. The EuroStoxx 50 was up 0.1 percent at 5,001 points around midday.
Outside the euro area, the British FTSE 100 rose by 0.66 percent to 8,301.21 points thanks to strong raw material stocks, while the Swiss leading index SMI climbed by 0.4 percent to 11,924.21 points.
Market expert Andreas Lipkow spoke of restraint. “The dangers of negative surprises or outliers from expected values are too great,” he emphasized with a view to the US labor market report tomorrow, Friday. The numbers are one of the most important pacesetters for the USmonetary policy.
The strongest sector was raw materials stocks. Australia’s trade balance had shown increased exports. This was interpreted as a signal of increased demand for raw materials from China. Oil assets were also sought. Shell (Shell (ex Royal Dutch Shell)) gained 1.8 percent. Tailwind provided a buy recommendation from UBS.
Financial service providers increased their profits. The shares of heavyweight UBS gained 1.9 percent and broke the 30 franc mark for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. Pharmaceutical stocks also benefited from the gains of a Swiss standard stock.
Roche (Roche) is attracting more interest again after a weak previous year and climbed by 1.7 percent. The reasons for this are likely to be, among other things, approval successes. The takeover of the cell therapy expert Poseida, which is about to be completed, is also apparently well received on the market.
At the end of the field, however, retail stocks moved. Marks & Spencer (MarksSpencer) and Tesco were under pressure here. Analysts praised the latest business figures from the two British retailers, but also pointed to the strong run last year. In addition, Tesco has only confirmed its outlook. Marks & Spencer fell 6.4 percent, Tesco fell 1.5 percent.
Otherwise, analyzes moved prices. Adecco (Adecco SA) lost 4.9 percent after UBS significantly lowered its price target. Swatch (Swatch (I)) fell by 3.3 percent. A downgrade by RBC had a negative impact here.
Meanwhile, DocMorris were in demand among the smaller stocks. The battered title recovered by 7.9 percent. The success of electronic prescriptions in Germany gave competitor Redcare Pharmacy (Redcare Pharmacy (ex Shop Apotheke)) a growth spurt in 2024./mf/mis