Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market started off on a weak note on Monday, but recovered swiftly and then stayed firm right through the day's session to eventually close modestly higher.

The mood remained cautious with investors awaiting a slew of economic data, including monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, and U.S. jobs data for the month of January.

On the Swiss economic front, Swiss KOF economic barometer score, retail sales data, reports on manufacturing activity and consumer confidence are all due during the course of this week.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 39.70 points or 0.35% at 11,429.83.

Holcim climbed 4.7% after the company announced plans to spin off its North American operations in a flotation.

Lonza Group gained 2.62%, and Givaudan advanced about 1.3%. Nestle gained nearly 1%, and Kuehne & Nagel ended 0.72% up. ABB and Novartis posted modest gains.

Alcon drifted down nearly 2%. Logitech International ended 1.43% down, while Swisscom, Sonova, Geberit, Sika and UBS Group closed lower by 0.5 to 0.8%.

Among other stocks in the Midcap Index, Meyer Burger Tech soared nearly 11%. Sandoz, Straumann Holding, Schindler Ps and Schindler Holding gained 0.7 to 1%.

Tecan Group and SGS ended lower by 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively. Adecco, Avolta, Julius Baer and ams OSRAM AG lost 1 to 1.6%.