By Thomas BIANCATO
Published on Tue, 24.Jun.2025
Holcim’s spinoff of its North American operations offered a new way to invest in the construction business while largely avoiding the Trump administration’s tariff threats to the industry. Shares of Chicago-based Amrize debuted Monday with a 1.2% gain on the New York Stock Exchange and a 0.4% uptick after-hours. Since Amrize sources most of its cement and other materials domestically, the company stands to benefit if tariffs lead to higher imported cement prices, said Anthony Codling, head of building-materials research for RBC Capital Markets. In Zurich, the Amrize share, which is also traded on the Nyse in the USA, had ended the first day of trading at CHF 39.31, well below the reference price of CHF 46.08 set on Friday.
The stock market in Zurich was largely in line with those in neighbouring European countries on Monday. The SMI lost 0.1 per cent to 11,855 points. Of the 20 SMI stocks, there were 11 losers and 9 winners. A total of 20.39 million shares were traded, again significantly less than the 70.18 million shares traded on the expiry date on Friday. On the corporate side, Holcim was the number one topic of the day due to the spin-off of the North American business under the name Amrize, which has now been finalised on the stock market. As part of the spin-off, one Amrize share was allocated for each Holcim share. Holcim shares, traded “ex Amrize”, plummeted 42.1 per cent to 54.98 CHF as the value of the spun-off Amrize was deducted from the old Holcim share price. Logitech was the day's winner, rising 1.3 per cent ahead of Swisscom (+1.2%). The laggards - apart from Holcim - were ABB, down 1.9 per cent. Roche gained half a per cent after the pharmaceutical giant announced positive phase III trial results for a cancer drug.
Europe
European stock markets closed in the red on Monday, as investors assessed the likelihood of Iran closing the Hormuz Straits in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.3% to 535 points. In Paris, CAC 40 and SBF 120 lost 0.7% each. The DAX 40 was down 0.4% in Frankfurt and the FTSE 100 edged down 0.2% in London. STELLANTIS (-2.3%): the carmaker announced on Monday that Antonio Filosa was taking over as CEO today, as planned, and that it had established the composition of its management team, with immediate effect. SANOFI (-0.2%): the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency issued a favourable opinion on the marketing authorisation application for Sarclisa (isatuximab) for a new indication in multiple myeloma.
United States
U.S. stocks, on Monday, have been resisting any meaningful pullback, keeping the stock market near record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA gained 374 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 SPX rose 1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP gained 0.9%, according to FactSet. The rally left the S&P 500 only 1.9% below its record close of 6,144.15 on Feb. 19, according to Dow Jones Market Data. With U.S. stocks pushing higher on Monday and oil prices tumbling, geopolitical risks thus far appeared to be having only a “marginal” impact on U.S. markets. Iran’s armed forces on Monday fired missiles toward U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq, in retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes. But several news reports indicated that Iran gave advanced warning of the attacks to minimise casualties. No injuries were reported. Defence stocks were at least temporarily in demand after the US air strikes. Northrop Grumman rose by 0.4 per cent. The company manufactures the B2 bombers that were involved in the attacks with bunker-busting bombs. Boeing rose by 1.3 per cent and Lockheed Martin by 0.4 per cent. In the oil sector, Exxon fell by 2.6 per cent and Chevron by 1.8 per cent. Tesla jumped by a good 8 per cent. The e-car manufacturer launched its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. Northern Trust advanced by 8.0 per cent. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Bank of New York Mellon is interested in the smaller competitor. New York Mellon fell by 2.2 per cent. Hims & Hers Health slumped almost 35 per cent after Novo Nordisk ended its partnership with the telemedicine company, citing concerns over ‘illegal bulk drugs and misleading marketing’. Super Micro Computer suffered from the announcement of a 2 billion dollar, profit-diluting convertible bond. The share price dropped by almost 10 per cent. Fiserv rose by 4.4 per cent. The financial technology company plans to launch a platform for digital currencies by the end of the year. The chemical stock Dow lost 3.2 per cent, pushed down by a sell recommendation from BMO Capital . Wolfspeed slumped by 31.9 per cent. The semiconductor manufacturer had announced that it expected to file for insolvency proceedings on or before 1 July.
Asia
In Asia, major indexes rose sharply on Tuesday morning. The announcement of an end to Israel's attacks on Iran creates a relaxed mood. Concerns about an oil price explosion, which would have severely damaged Asia's economies, also diminished accordingly. In South Korea, the Kospi rises by 2.8 per cent and in Thailand the Seti index gains 2.5 per cent. In Taiwan and China (Hong Kong), the index climbed by up to 1.9 per cent.
Bonds
U.S. government debt yields slipped on Monday - but not necessarily because investors were buying U.S. government debt as a safety play in the wake of America’s direct involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict - but because Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated a wait-and-see approach until there’s more clarity on how President Trump’s tariffs may impact inflation. The 10-year Treasury note yield was down 5.3 basis points to 4.321%. The 2-year Treasury note yield fell 7 basis points on Monday to 3.84%, according to FactSet data.
Analysis
Rating Amrize: Vontobel starts with Hold - Target CHF 50
Target price BKW: UBS raises to CHF 190 (178) - Buy
Rating Swiss Re: Morgan Stanley lowers to Underweight (Equal Weight) - Target CHF 130 (143)