Swiss Shares Flat Amid Election of Next Confederation President, Retroactive US Tariffs Update

12:02 PM EST, 12/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Swiss Market Index ended Wednesday little changed at 0.07% in the red amid market jitters with the nearing US Fed decision and major geopolitical updates at home. Guy Parmelin was elected the president of the Swiss Confederation in 2026, taking over from Karin Keller-Sutter, with a record result of 203 votes in favor out of 228 ballot papers. In Switzerland, a president serves a one-year term and no one person is ever head of state, as the position is held by the seven-member Federal Council. The outgoing economy minister was president in 2021 and is currently the longest-serving member of the council. Meanwhile, the council said the US tariffs imposed on Switzerland will be reduced to 15% from 39%, effective retroactively from Nov. 4. Swiss tariffs on US fish, seafood and certain agricultural products will be reduced in return. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute's global economic barometers showed improvement in December, with the coincident barometer climbing 1.4 points to 101.3 and the leading barometer rising 1.5 to 101.6 points. "Although it is only slightly above its long-term average, the Coincident Global Barometer has reached its highest level since March 2022. It is the Western Hemisphere, and specifically the US, that is pulling this sentiment down. The latter also applies to the Leading Global Barometer," KOF director Jan-Egbert Sturm said. "This does not mean that structural problems in Europe and Asia have been resolved. Rather, it suggests that the world economy can no longer depend on the US market to ensure demand to the same extent as before." On the corporate front, Swatch Group (UHR.SW) is facing an investigation from the Italian Competition Authority for potentially breaching European Union rules by fixing retail prices displayed online by their authorized distributors. The regulator said the launch of the probe follows a recent inspection of Swatch Group (Italia)'s premises, sending the Swiss watchmaker's stock 0.52% lower at closing.