Swiss Market Index Blinks Red; Feintool Shares Jump
Swiss equities slipped back into the red on Thursday, with the Swiss Market Index closing 1.09% lower, as investors digested a fresh batch of economic data and company releases.Total employment in Switzerland, excluding agriculture, rose 2% year over year in the second quarter to 5.7 million jobs, government data showed. Employment in the industry and construction sector grew 1.2% annually to 1.1 million jobs, while the services sector logged a 2.2% increase to 4.6 million jobs."Enterprises reported 2.7% more job vacancies than a year earlier and difficulties recruiting skilled workers have increased compared with the previous quarter. The employment outlook remains positive," the Federal Statistical Office said, noting that companies recorded a total of 98,700 vacancies in the quarter.Over to corporates, Accelleron Industries' (ACLN.SW) revenue reached $737.3 million in the first six months of 2026, up from $608 million a year before, while net income surged 31.5% over the period to $150.8 million. For the full year, the turbocharging technologies company raised its organic revenue growth guidance to between 14% and 17% from the previously guided range of 9% to 14%. The stock was down 4.37% at the end of the trading session."Demand remains robust across our core markets, supported by ongoing data center expansion and continued activity in marine new builds. While we expect a steady appetite for full-cover service agreements, growth in upgrade and retrofit solutions is expected to level off due to the postponement of the IMO Net Zero Framework," said Chief Executive Officer Daniel Bischofberger. "We are investing further in capacity, technology, and our people to ensure we can deliver for our customers, while executing on our balanced capital allocation framework, including the share buyback program launched in May."Feintool (FTON.SW) gained 12.73% at closing as it delivered net earnings of 3.2 million francs in the first half, swinging from a year-ago net loss of 5.0 million francs. The fine metal processing group's net sales climbed over the period to 353.3 million francs from 334.5 million francs.
