The Swiss Stock Market Advanced Ahead Of Federal Reserve Announcement

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session with a substantial gain. The market got off to a weak start, but the positive performance of the U.S. markets and rising crude oil prices sparked gains in the afternoon. The market also received support from the pharmaceutical heavyweights and the cyclicals.

Investors are optimistic that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady later today and that a rate hike will need to be pushed off until next year. There was also speculation that the Bank of Japan may need to expand its bond purchase program.

The Swiss Market Index climbed 0.93 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,932.64. The Swiss Leader Index gained 0.96 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.90 percent.

The top performer of the session was Transocean, which surged by 6.1 percent. The publication of the inventory of U.S. crude oil and distillates caused a significant increase in the price of oil.

The pharmaceutical heavyweights had a positive reaction to the financial report from competitor GlaxoSmithKline in the UK. Roche increased 1.9 percent and Novartis added 0.6 percent. Nestlé also finished higher by 0.7 percent.

Among the cyclicals, Aryzta climbed 2.9 percent and Schindler gained 2.2 percent. ABB increased 1.9 percent and Kuehne + Nagel rose 1.8 percent.

UBS ended the session with a loss of 0.1 percent, but had been down by as much as 2.7 percent. The stock was under pressure after JPMorgan downgraded its rating to "Neutral."

Watch manufacturer Swatch dipped by 0.4 percent, after Exane BNP downgraded it to "Neutral." Meanwhile, Richemont advanced 0.8 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock.