Swiss Market Ends Higher After Choppy Session

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market closed on a positive note on Friday after a choppy session, as investors assessed the region's economic data and continued to closely follow the developments on the geopolitical front.

After moving along the flatline till around mid afternoon, the benchmark SMI slipped into the red but moved higher in the closing minutes to sign off with a gain of 54.40 points or 0.46% at 11,764.20.

ABB climbed 1.62% and UBS Group gained nearly 1.5%. Richemont, Lonza Group and Partners Group closed higher by 1.1 to 1.25%.

Geberit gained nearly 1%. VAT Group, Straumann Holding, Roche Holding, Lindt & Spruengli, Holcim, Logitech International, Zurich Insurance Group, Alcon and Swatch Group also closed on a firm note.

SIG Group closed down 1.53%. Julius Baer, Sandoz Group, Swisscom and Nestle ended lower by 0.2 to 0.5%. Novartis declined marginally.

In economic news, a measure signaling future turning points in the Swiss economy strengthened in November, the results of a survey by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed.

The economic barometer rose to 101.8 in November from a downwardly revised 99.5 in October, which was the first time since January that the score marked below 100.