Zurich Insurance recorded growth in all business areas in the first nine months. Despite hurricane damage, management is very confident for the year as a whole. ‘We are on track to exceed all current targets,’ said CFO Claudia Cordioli according to the press release. In property and casualty insurance, gross premiums increased by 4 per cent to USD 36.1 billion. The combined ratio was reduced by 3.4 per cent due to losses from natural disasters. The ratio compares expenses and income in the insurance business. Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating damage in the south-east of the USA in September, had a pre-tax impact of USD 160 million. For hurricane Milton, which hit Florida in particular in October, Zurich expects claims totalling USD 200 million. In life insurance, premiums from new business climbed by 4 per cent to USD 12.6 billion, mainly thanks to strong growth in North America. The Farmers Exchanges segment also increased its premiums by 4 per cent to USD 21.5 billion.

On the Swiss stock market, the initial enthusiasm for Donald Trump's election victory as US President evaporated over the course of the day on Wednesday. Although Trump is seen as pro-business, this stance is based on the domestic economy in the USA. After all, ‘America First’ stands for a focus on the USA. As a result, more and more voices were heard pointing out the protectionist nature of Trump's economic policy. Trade with Europe is likely to be affected by tariffs, according to the market. Following initial gains, the SMI fell 0.2 per cent to 11,847 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 13 losers and seven gainers. A total of 30.65 (previously: 15.3) million shares were traded. Financial stocks were the winners on the Swiss stock market, with UBS and Partners Group gaining 5 and 2.8 per cent respectively. ‘Trump stands for deregulation in the financial sector,’ explained one market participant. Sooner or later, this should also have an impact on Europe. Swiss Life rose by 1.8 per cent. However, there were also ‘Trump losers’. Kühne + Nagel, for example, shed 2.5 per cent on the prospect of restricted trade between Europe and the USA, while Logitech slumped by 5.5 per cent. The technology group has a large production share in China. The People's Republic was also at the centre of potential trade disputes with the USA under Trump.

The European stock markets ended the day lower on Wednesday, as Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election boosted Wall Street but rekindled the spectre of tariffs that could harm the rest of the global economy. After starting the day higher, the Stoxx Europe 600 index eventually fell by 0.5% to 506.78 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 slipped 0.5% to 7,369.61 points, while the SBF 120 gave up 0.6% to 5,588.20 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax shed 1.1%, while in London, the FTSE dropped less than 0.1%. Pernod-Ricard (-3.3%) and Remy Cointreau (-4.5%) were among the day's biggest decliners on fears of new taxes on wines and spirits in the United States. Stocks with the greatest exposure to the United States, on the other hand, were buoyed by the rise in the dollar. In Paris, the biggest risers were companies in the oil and oil-related sectors, including Viridien (+10%), Vallourec (+6.8%) and Technip Energies (+1.7%). In Paris, Airbus rose by 0.4%, Safran gained 1.1% and Thales gained 2.9%. In London, BAE Systems shares climbed 4.9% and Rolls-Royce shares advanced 2.5%. Crédit Agricole SA (-3.8%), or CASA, was the biggest decliner within the CAC 40, after reporting net profit (group share) of €1.66 billion for the third quarter, down 4.7% on the same period a year earlier. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (+0.6% in Copenhagen) on Wednesday refined its forecasts for its 2024 results and reported a jump in sales of its flagship anti-obesity drug, Wegovy, in the third quarter.

Donald Trump’s election victory powered the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest gain in two years, with a broad market rally lifting shares of banks, industrial companies and small-cap firms that are expected to benefit from continued economic expansion. The gains were widely distributed as Wall Street bet that Trump’s promises of deregulation and tax cuts will further ignite an economy that already has posted strong gains in recent years. But sectors that were expected to benefit from Democratic policies, such as electric-vehicle companies and clean-energy related industries, declined sharply. “The markets are now trading full-on Trump trade,” said Stephen Dainton, a senior executive at Barclays who oversees the lender’s investment bank including its large trading division. All three major stock indexes advanced to records. The Dow industrials soared about 1,508 points, or 3.6%—its biggest daily percentage gain since November 2022—to 43729.93. The S&P 500 added 2.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 3%. Big winners included banks, which investors bet were poised to benefit from reduced regulation and a fresh acceleration in growth. Shares of JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest lender, climbed 12% to a new all-time high. Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs both rose 13%. The prospect of lighter regulation and protective tariffs helped drive gains in industrials, with equipment maker Caterpillar rising 8.7% to a new all-time high and 3M adding 5.8%. Domestic steelmakers Nucor and Steel Dynamics gained 16% and 14%, respectively. Railroads, including Norfolk Southern and CSX, surged. Bitcoin rose 9.8% to $76,231.61, topping a previous record from March. Trump has said that he wants to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and has pledged to create a “strategic bitcoin reserve.” Shares of Tesla, the electric-vehicle maker helmed by Trump ally and donor Elon Musk climbed 15%. The S&P 500’s consumer-staples sector declined 1.6%, and the utilities segment lost 1%. The real-estate sector sank 2.6%. The country’s largest home builder, D.R. Horton, shed 3.8%.

In Asia, major indexes broadly closed with gains on Thursday. In Shanghai, the Composite rose by 1.1 per cent, while in Hong Kong the HSI recovered by 1.2 per cent from its more significant fall the previous day. In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 shed 0.3 per cent. In Seoul, the Kospi is now up 0.4 per cent after an initial drop, even though investors fear that Trump's election victory and his promised policy to increase tariffs and cut clean energy projects will be bad for local exporters, including steelmakers, car manufacturers and battery suppliers.

An aggressive selloff in bonds that began after Tuesday evening’s early election results continued on Wednesday, pushing the 30-year yield up by the most in four years, as traders factored in the likely trade and deficit policies of another Trump administration. The 10-year Treasury note yield jumped by 15 basis points to 4.333%. The 2-year Treasury note yield climbed by 7 basis points to 4.274%.

Berenberg raises Inficon to Buy (Hold) - CHF 1,400 (1,500)
RBC downgrades Adecco to CHF 35 (36) - Outperform
Deutsche Bank lowers Oerlikon to CHF 4.30 (4.50) - Hold

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