Markets Customs fears continue to weigh on Swiss equities
Despite the massive losses of the previous day, there are no signs of recovery on the stock markets at the end of the week. The leading Swiss index SMI lost more than 1 percent again at the start of trading.
04.04.2025, 09:38
SDA
Its European counterparts also fell again, after the sell-off had already continued in Asia. With his tariff plans on Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump has taken the trade conflict to a new level of escalation, according to trade sources.
"The global economy has entered a dark tunnel - nobody knows what will happen next," said one trader, describing the current mood. Tariffs are sand in the gears of the global economy, making life more expensive for everyone, wrote the experts at Allianz Global Investors. In the course of trading, only the US labor market report in the afternoon is likely to distract investors for a short time.
The leading SMI index lost 1.16 percent at around 9.20 am. The SLI, which includes the 30 most important stocks, fell by 1.15 percent and the broad SPI by 0.99 percent.
Bank stocks also suffer
According to traders, the market is likely to continue to differentiate between the individual sectors and how strongly the US tariffs will affect the profits of the respective companies. "The massive trend towards equities with mainly domestic market exposure is likely to continue."
The biggest losers are the two financial stocks UBS (-2.9 percent) and Julius Baer (-2.5 percent). They had already suffered the previous day. Current market developments are putting pressure on market interest rates. This is generally a disadvantage for banks' interest income.
Healthcare stocks also fell across the board. Sandoz, Novartis, Alcon, Straumann, Lonza Roche and Sonova lost up to 2.4 percent. Traders pointed to reports that Trump is now considering tariffs on pharmaceuticals after all. Initially, it had looked as if pharmaceutical products would be spared, which had supported the shares of companies such as Lonza and Novartis on Thursday.
