Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on March 24

EvoNext Holdings SA

24/03/2016 07:09

ZURICH, March 24 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI  .SSMI  
was seen opening 0.5 percent lower at 7,852 points on Thursday, 
according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer 
 JBPRE01 . 
    The following are some of the main factors expected to 
affect Swiss stocks on Thursday: 
     
    CREDIT SUISSE  CSGN.S   
    Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam received 18.9 
million Swiss francs ($19.37 million) in 2015, according to the 
Swiss bank's annual report published on Thursday. 
    Thiam said on Wednesday he has total confidence in finance 
chief David Mathers and global markets head Tim O'Hara after 
large illiquid trading positions pushed the bank to accelerate 
its cost-cutting plan. 
    For more, click on  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN16V0KN 
 
    SWISS NATIONAL BANK  
    The Swiss National Bank (SNB) purchased 86.1 billion Swiss 
francs in foreign currency last year to enforce the minimum 
exchange rate, lifted in January, and influence exchange rate 
developments, according to its annual report which was published 
on Thursday.  
    For more, click on  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN16W03Q 
         
    SYNGENTA  SYNN.S  
    Senator Chuck Grassley and other U.S. lawmakers are pushing 
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have a formal role in 
weighing ChemChina's planned takeover of Switzerland's Syngenta, 
the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.  
    Syngenta shares were indicated to open 1.9 percent lower in 
pre-market trading. 
    For more, click on  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N16V1GJ 
     
    NOVARTIS  NOVN.S   
    Drugmaker Novartis agreed on Wednesday to pay more than $25 
million to the U.S. government to settle civil charges that it 
bribed healthcare professionals in China to boost sales there, 
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said. 
    For more, click on  NOVN.S  
     
    NESTLE  NESN.VX  
    Starbucks Corp  SBUX.O  said on Wednesday it will sell 
espresso pods for Nestle SA's popular Nespresso home brewers in 
Europe and unveil a new way for customers to earn loyalty points 
for free food and drinks outside its cafes. 
    For more, click on  SBUX.O  
     
    UBS  UBSG.S   
    The Dutch authorities got information on "thousands" of 
their taxpayers' accounts at Swiss bank UBS before a court 
ruling in Switzerland this week put a hold on further 
disclosures, according to the Dutch finance ministry. 
    For more, click on  UBSG.S      
           
    COMPANY STATEMENTS  CPR-CH  
    * Altin  ALTN.S  said on Wednesday it has been informed of 
Thomas Amstutz's resignation with immediate effect from the 
Board of Directors.  ALTN.S  
    * Emmi  EMMN.S  said net profit amounted to 120.2 million 
Swiss francs in 2015, 9.9 percent higher than in the previous 
year.  EMMN.S  
    * Evolva  EVE.S  said it is expanding its current work with 
the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to research 
nootkatone's effectiveness in tick-control to include an 
additional focus on mosquitoes, including those that transmit 
Zika, chikungunya, dengue, and West Nile viruses.  EVE.S   
    * Georg Fischer AG  FIN.S  said Andreas Müller will become 
Chief Financial Officer effective Jan. 1 2017. GF said on 
Wednesday evening that shareholders at the general meeting 
approved all of the proposals.  FIN.S  
    * Schmolz+Bickenbach  STLN.S  said its financial result 
improved to -45.9 million euros in 2015, from -50.6 million 
euros in the previous year. It is expecting stable sales volumes 
and an adjusted EBITDA between 150-190 million euros this year. 
 STLN.S  
     
    ECONOMY  M-CH  
     
 
 (Reporting by Zurich newsroom) 
 ((+41 58 306 7336)(zurich.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)) 
  
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Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS/