The Swiss Stock Market Climbed On Pharma Strength

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session in the green, but finished off its session highs. The market got off to a weak start Tuesday, but quickly turned positive. The index rose back above the 9,000 point level, but was unable to close above that level.

Concerns over Greece and the disappointing German investor sentiment report weighed on sentiment Tuesday, but the Swiss market benefitted from its "safe haven" status, due to its defensive weighting.

The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.46 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,965.40. The market hit an intraday high of 9,002 and a low of 8,893 points. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.31 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.45 percent.

The positive performance of the pharmaceutical heavyweights provided support to the overall market. Novartis climbed by 1.1 percent and Roche added 0.8 percent. Novartis announced that Alcon received European approval for a trifocal presbyopia-correcting intraocular lens, for patients undergoing cataract surgery.

Shares of Nestle also advanced by 0.3 percent. The stock is attempting to recover from the nearly 6 percent decline that was caused by the noodle issue in India two weeks ago.

Lonza was among the top gainers, with an increase of 1.6 percent. Insurance stocks also fared will, with Baloise rising by 1.1 percent and Swiss Life adding 1.0 percent. Among the cyclicals, Schindler advanced by 1.0 percent and Adecco climbed by 0.9 percent.

Syngenta dropped by 0.7 percent. Investors continue to wait for news about a possible takeover bid by U.S. rival Monsanto. Bank stocks also turned in a weak performance Tuesday. UBS dropped by 0.5 percent and Credit Suisse lost 0.4 percent. Julius Baer also finished lower by 0.2 percent.

Shares of Gurit surged by 7.0 percent, after it increased its sales and earnings guidance for the first half of the year. Barry Callebaut rose by 3.0 percent, after it signed a long-term supply agreement with the Indonesian company GarudaFood.

Georg Fischer fell by 1.8 percent, after Kepler downgraded its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."