The Swiss Stock Market Climbed As Syria Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market bounced back Thursday, following yesterday's drop. After fluctuating between gains and losses in early trade, the market turned higher following some comments from U.S. President Donald Trump around midday.

"Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!" Trump said in a post on Twitter.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.76 percent Thursday and finished at 8,774.76. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.98 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.79 percent.

Lonza and Clariant were among the top performing stocks of the session, with gains of 3.7 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

Swatch increased 2.1 percent and rival Richemont advanced 2.0 percent. Hearing aid manufacturer Sonova rose 1.5 percent after it presented new products based on its wireless chip at an industry conference.

Julius Baer finished higher by 2.1 percent, while UBS gained 1.3 percent and Credit Suisse added 1.1 percent. Zurich Insurance climbed 1.9 percent and Swiss Re added 0.8 percent.

Among the index heavyweights, Novartis increased 1.2 percent and Roche rose 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, Nestlé fell 0.5 percent.

In the broad market, Sulzer surged 19.5 percent. U.S. authorities approved a deal that would free the company from sanctions. Sulzer agreed to buyback 5 million of its shares from shareholder Viktor Vekselberg, which dropped his stake in the company below 50 percent.