The Swiss stock market has become a safe haven amid the market's AI panic.

Title context: Text: As European stock markets whipsaw, Switzerland's highly defensive large-cap leaders have become a bright spot. The Swiss Market Index, which tracks the country's 20 most liquid large-cap stocks, has gained 4.6% this month, while the eurozone benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 has fallen 3.2% over the same period. The Swiss index's outperformance of nearly 8 percentage points is the highest level since March 2020when the pandemic hit globally and investors scrambled for safe-haven assets. Behind this rally, European investors are actively reducing risk exposure in the face of rising financing costs, doubts over the AI trade, and political turmoil in countries such as France and Spain. The index's gains have been driven mainly by three heavyweight stocks: drugmaker Roche Holding rose 12% in October, Novartis gained 6.7%, and global food giant Nestle added 10%. All of the Swiss index's gains this month came from these three established defensive leaders. Damien Burkhardt, head of Swiss equities at EFG Asset Management, said: "Investors favor the defensive qualities of Swiss stocks and are actively looking for alternatives outside the crowded AI trade. Previously, money in the pharmaceutical sector was pulled away to chase AI, and now that trend is reversing." The latest Bank of America fund manager survey also shows a marked warming in preference for Swiss stocks, with a net 16% of surveyed fund managers choosing Switzerland as their most favored European stock market.