Equity markets

Thanks to the good global economic prospects and the low yields with fixed-interest bonds, equities are still attractive. The start of the second stage of Brexit negotiations should also support a further rise in European prices. In historical comparison, the volatility indices were at a record low in 2017. The markets regarded the short-time risks as being small or their occurrence as being unlikely.

The worldwide equities barometer, the MSCI World (in CHF) attained a performance of 18.5 percent in 2017. In the USA, equity prices continue to rise. The benchmark S&P 500 index soared by 22 percent to a new record high. The key German equities index, the DAX climbed by 12.5 percent in 2017. The Swiss Performance Index, Switzerland’s leading stock market barometer, which depicts the overall market, gained 20 percent in value, while the country’s blue chip index, the SMI, achieved a plus of almost 18 percent.