ZURICH / BERLIN, Dec. 14 (Reuters) – Switzerland’s blue-chip SMI (.SSMI) on Tuesday opened 0.14% to 12,569 points, according to pre-market reports from Bank Julius Baer.

Here are some of the main factors that can affect Swiss stocks:

SWISS NATIONAL BANK

Demand deposits at the Swiss National Bank rose to their highest amount in seven months last week, indicating that policymakers are taking decisive first steps to fight a rise in the value of the franc against its main rivals, in particular the euro. Read more

UBS (UBSG.S)

A Paris appeals court on Monday reduced the penalty UBS must pay for allegedly helping high net worth clients in France evade tax to 1.8 billion euros ($ 2 billion), but confirmed that the Swiss bank was guilty of both promoting illegal banking services and money laundering. Read more

Vifor Pharma SA

Australian biopharmaceutical giant CSL Ltd (CSL.AX) has announced that it will acquire Swiss drugmaker Vifor Pharma AG for $ 11.7 billion, in a bid to diversify beyond the blood plasma collection industry after being affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Read more

COMPANY DECLARATIONS

* Roche (ROG.S) said its Sars-Cov-2 antigen nasal self-test has been approved under an interim order from Health Canada. ROG.S

* Sika (SIKA.S) announced the opening of a new technology center and manufacturing facility in Pune, India, for adhesives and sealants. SIKA.S

* Swiss Life (SLHN.S) declared that its fund REF Swiss Properties (SLREFS.S) raised 300 million Swiss francs in a capital increase concluded on December 10. SLHN.SSLREFS.S

VIEWS OF ANALYSTS

FORBO HOLDING AG (FORN.S): CREDIT SUISSE INCREASES THE TARGET PRICE FROM CHF 1,730 TO CHF 1,825

LONZA GROUP AG (LONN.S): RBC INCREASES TARGET PRICE FROM CHF 680 TO CHF 720

EMS CHEMIE HOLDING AG (EMSN.S): BERENBERG STARTS WITH A PURCHASE NOTE AND A GOAL PRICE OF CHF 1,100

SWISS LIFE HOLDING AG (SLHN.S): BERENBERG INCREASES THE TARGET PRICE FROM CHF 546 TO CHF 657

NOVARTIS AG (NOVN.S): BERENBERG LOWER TARGET PRICE FROM CHF 88 TO CHF 85

ECONOMY

Data for the Swiss producer and import price index for November is due at 07:30 GMT.

Report by the Zurich editorial staff and the Berlin Speed ​​Desk

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.