Swiss Market Ends On Strong Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a strong note on Friday, bouncing back on bargain hunting after the sharp plunge in the previous session.

The market had tumbled on Thursday as the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a massive sell-off in several markets across the globe.

The benchmark SMI ended with a big gain of 350.55 points or 3.01% at 11,987.31, slightly off the day's high of 11,995.96.

The SMI ended with a loss off 305.13 points or 2.56% on Thursday.

UBS Group climbed 6.3%. Richemont moved up 4.84%, Sika gained 4.66% and Credit Suisse surged up 4.1%, while Logitech rallied nearly 4%.

SGS ended 3.78% up, while Lonza Group, Partners Group, ABB and Alcon gained 3 to 3.3%. Nestle, Swiss Life Holding, Novartis, Roche Holding, Geberit and Zurich Insurance Group also ended sharply higher.

Swiss Re ended lower by 4.2% after the reinsurer took a combined hit of more than $4 billion last year from the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of natural catastrophes. The company said pandemic-related claims of $2 billion came mostly from the group's life and health division, after heightened numbers of American deaths led to a surge in life insurance payouts.

In the Mid Price Index, BB Biotech gained nearly 5.5%. Julius Baer, Swatch Group, Dufry, Sonova, VAT Group, Clariant, Kuehne & Nagel, PSP Swiss Property and Adecco ended higher by 3.1 to 4.3%.