Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on June 18

VP Bank AG

18/06/2015 06:20

ZURICH, June 18 (Reuters) - The following are some of the 
main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Thursday: 
     
    SWISS BANKS 
    The Swiss National Bank on Thursday welcomed the improvement 
made by the country's biggest banks, UBS  UBSG.VX  and Credit 
Suisse  CSGN.VX , to their capital strength in the past year but 
said further progress was needed.  
    For more click on  ID:nZ8N0W102C  
     
    NOVARTIS  NOVN.VX  
    Novartis AG  NOVN.VX  said on Thursday it expects to 
increase its margin this year as it restructures its drug 
portfolio and cuts costs, as well a hike in its dividend and 
cash for smaller, strategic acquisitions.  
    For more click on  NOVN.VX  
       
    COMPANY STATEMENTS  CPR-CH  
    * Julius Baer  BAER.VX  said it has appointed Guido Ruoss as 
new Head Human Resources, effective 1 August 2015, succeeding 
Stefan Hux, who will lead and coordinate all of the Swiss bank's 
strategic hiring activities globally.  BAER.VX  
    * The majority stakeholder of Sika  SIK.VX  said a Swiss 
court rejected the firm's attempt to grant status of a party in 
a proceeding with Bill and Melinda Gates and Cascade Investments 
against Saint-Gobain and the majority Sika stakeholder.  SIK.VX  
    * VP Bank  VPB.S  said it is conducting a repurchase of own 
bearer and registered shares within the framework of a public 
fixed-price offer. The repurchase period will run from 22 June 
to 3 July 2015, and the shares bought back are to be used for 
future acquisitions or for treasury management purposes.  VPB.S  
    * Conzzeta  CONC.S  said the listing prospectus for its 
initial public offering of PLAZZA AG is published on Thursday. 
The group's shareholders will vote on the spin-off of the real 
estate business unit on June 22. It is expected that the 
business will be listed as an independent company, PLAZZA AG, on 
the SIX Swiss Exchange on June 26.  CONC.S  
    * Interroll  INRN.S  said it expects solid sales growth of 
at least 2 percent in the reporting currency Swiss franc for the 
first half of 2015, with growth in net profit of at least 50 
percent.  INRN.S  
     
    ECONOMY  M-CH  
    May trade data due at 0600 GMT 
    SNB monetary policy assessment at 0730 GMT 
     
 
 (Reporting by Zurich newsroom) 
 ((+41 58 306 7336)(zurich.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com))