Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market shrugged off a weak start, gained in strength as the day progressed, and despite a mild setback later on in the session, ended on a firm note on Thursday.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 85.27 points or 0.79% at 10,860.95, slightly off the session's high of 10,866.63. The index slid to a low of 10,731.68 in early trades.

Roche Holding gained 2.25% after the company reported net income of CHF 15.1 billion for 2020, an increase of 17% (7% in CHF), mainly due to the lower goodwill write-offs compared to the previous year.

Partners Group gained about 3%. Alcon and Credit Suisse ended 2 to 2.2% up. Swiss Re, Novartis and Richemont gained 1.5 to 1.65%, while SGS ended up by a little over 1% and UBS Group closed 0.65% up.

ABB shares ended lower by about 5% after the company swung to a loss in the fourth quarter. ABB reported net loss of $79 million, missing analyst expectations for a profit of $104 million.

In the midcap section, Straumann Holding ended stronger by 3.15%. Julius Baer, BB Biotech and Sonova gained 2.25 to 2.6%.

Helvetia, Dufry, Vifor Pharma, Georg Fischer and Addeco ended higher by 1 to 1.5%, while Kuehne & Nagel and Clariant lost 1.9% and 1%, respectively.

On the economic front, data from State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed the Swiss consumer confidence index declined to -14.6 in the first quarter of 2021, the weakest since the second quarter last year, from a revised -13.0 in the previous quarter.