Online pharmacist DocMorris succeeded in increasing its external revenues last year. It also confirmed an adjusted operating result (Ebitda) of around -50 million francs including e-prescriptions for 2024. External revenues grew by 6.7% to 1.08 billion francs year-on-year, according to the press release issued on Tuesday. “All divisions contributed to sales growth”, according to the document. In its core market of Germany, the mail-order apothecary posted sales growth of 6.9% to 1.02 billion. Non-prescription drugs (OTC) also grew by 6.7% in local currencies and “broke even in terms of Ebitda”. The AWP consensus was for slightly higher sales of 1.09 billion for the Thurgau-based group. The experts were right on target when it came to earnings in Germany. At the end of December, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of CHF 95 million.

Despite a mid-session setback, the Swiss market closed on a firm note on Monday, in line with markets across Europe, as investors reacted positively to news that the Trump administration would hold off on imposing trade tariffs for now. The benchmark SMI recovered after a slightly weak start, turned a bit subdued after an hour past noon, and then recovered to end the day's session on a firm note. The index closed up 46.95 points or 0.39% at 12,037.22, after scaling a low of 11,983.25 and a high of 12,055.00 intraday. Kuehne + Nagel climbed nearly 2.5%. UBS Group gained about 2% and Lonza Group ended 1.6% up. Sika, Straumann Holding, Adecco and Alcon gained 1 to 1.2%. Givaudan, Swatch Group, Sandoz Group, Julius Baer, Lindt & Spruengli, Partners Group, Roche Holding, ABB, Sonova and VAT Group posted moderate gains. Belimo Holding gained about 2.3% after reporting a year-over-year increase in net sales to 943.9 million francs from 858.8 million francs. Zurich Insurance Group closed down 1.67%. Schindler Ps declined 0.71%, and Swiss Life Holding ended lower by 0.5%. Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's producer and import prices continued to decline in December, though at the slowest pace in fourteen months. Producer and import prices dropped 0.9% year-on-year in December, following a 1.5% decline in November. Prices have been falling since May 2023. However, the latest decline was the weakest since October last year, when prices had risen the same 0.9%.

European stocks closed higher on Monday, with a few markets posting fresh record highs, reacting positively to reports that the Trump administration will hold off on imposing trade tariffs for now. Investors also focused on the World Economic Forum, which kicked off in Davos, Switzerland. According to reports, Donald Trump will direct federal agencies to assess trade relations with China and neighboring countries but will hold off on imposing new tariffs on his first day in office. The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.05%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.18%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.42% and France's CAC 40 closed up 0.31%, while Switzerland's SMI settled higher by 0.39%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye closed higher. Denmark, Norway and Russia ended weak, while Finland and Sweden closed flat. In the UK market, Fresnillo, Anglo American Plc, Spirax Group, Melrose Industries, Experian, Kingfisher and Mondi gained 2 to 3%. Glencore, IMI, Pershing Square Holdings, IAG, Taylor Wimpey, Intertek Group, Games Workshop, Centrica, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Marks & Spencer, RightMove and Informa closed higher by 1 to 1.85%. Rentokil Initial and Hiscox both closed lower by about 2.2%. Beazley, Pearson, LondonMetric Property, AstraZeneca, Auto Trader Group, JD Sports Fashion, Admiral Group and BP lost 1 to 1.5%. In the German market, BMW rallied 3.2%. Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Commerzbank, BASF, Deutsche Post and Sartorius gained 2 to 3%. Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Porsche, Bayer, Adidas and Continental also ended notably higher.

In the USA, the stock exchanges remain closed due to the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Donald Trump was inaugurated at 18:00 CET as President of the President of the USA. Trump signed executive orders to overhaul border and energy policies and end diversity programs across the federal government, unwinding signature Biden administration policies on the first day of his second term. Trump’s immigration plans include ending birthright citizenship, declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ending asylum by speeding deportations. He gave the defense secretary 10 days to provide a plan for U.S. troops to help seal the border. “With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” Trump said in his inaugural address at the Capitol. At a rally later at Capital One Arena, Trump rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions and signed other orders as thousands of supporters cheered.

Share prices on the stock markets in East Asia and Australia mostly rose slightly on Tuesday. As on the previous day, the strongest gains were seen in Hong Kong, with the HSI gaining 0.9 per cent, while the composite index in Shanghai in the Chinese heartland fell by 0.1 per cent. The trend in Seoul, South Korea (+0.2 per cent), held up well. The Tokyo index rose slightly to 38,948 points. Trading has already ended in Sydney (+0.7%).

On the bond market, the yield on the 10-year German Bund remained stable at 2.53%. The yield on the French OAT with the same maturity fell by 1 basis point (0.01 percentage point) to 3.30%

UBS raises Richemont target to CHF 180 (150) – Buy
UBS lowers Brenntag to Neutral (Buy) – Target EUR 60 (80)
Deutsche Bank lowers Fortum to Sell (Hold) – Target EUR 12 (13.50)

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