Swiss shares close off lows tracking Wall St; Richemont down after Q3 UPDATE

Swiss shares close off lows tracking Wall St; Richemont down after Q3 UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:20 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updating with full report)

ZURICH (AFX) - Share prices closed little changed but off this afternoon's lows helped by Wall Street's early gains, with Richemont hit by disappointing third-quarter sales, dealers said.

At the close, the Swiss Market Index was 3.35 points higher at 9,105.50, and the Swiss Performance Index was down 3.65 points at 7,196.52.

The euro eased against the Swiss franc to 1.6156 sfr, while the dollar dropped to 1.2393 sfr.

Share prices managed to close in positive territory, tracking Wall Street's positive start, although volumes remained thin throughout reflecting an ongoing dearth of corporate news, a trader here said.

Focus today was on Richemont, closing down 2.60 sfr or 3.6 pct at 70, after the luxury-goods group reported slightly lower-than-expected third-quarter sales growth, prompting Merrill Lynch to downgrade its stance to 'neutral'.

Earlier today, Richemont said sales grew 10 pct -- or 15 pct in constant currencies -- driven by high demand in luxury Cartier watches.

The consensus forecast was for a 12.2 pct increase or 16.7 pct in constant currencies.

Peer Swatch was at the other end of the spectrum, up another 5.25 sfr or 1.8 pct at 292.75, after reporting better-than-expected sales figures.

Banks were leading the market higher, with UBS adding 1.1 pct or 0.85 to 76.75 sfr, while peer Credit Suisse was up 1.10 sfr or 1.3 pct at 87.30, still benefiting from positive newsflow on its investors' day yesterday.

Pharmaceuticals were weak, however, with Roche down 0.90 sfr at 235, and Novartis off 0.20 sfr at 71.80.

Fellow heavyweight Nestle fell 0.50 sfr to 444.50.

Major losers included insurers Baloise, down 1.3 pct or 1.50 at 125.50, after its recent good run, and Swiss Re, last off 1.2 pct or 1.30 at 107.30 sfr.

Outside the SMI focus was on Lindt & Spruengli, up 200 sfr at 31,000, after reporting better than expected full-year sales, up 15 pct at 2.59 bln sfr, and saying that it expects full-year net profit and EBIT to grow somewhat ahead of sales.

Schulthess surged 47 sfr or 5.1 pct to 961, after the group said full-year sales rose 66 pct 306 mln sfr, driven by organic growth -- particularly in the heating/cooling technology division -- and acquisitions.

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