The Swiss Stock Market Climbed On Strength Of Index Heavyweights

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market was one of the few European markets to finish in the green Friday, extending its recent winning streak to three days in a row. The market got off to a weak start, due to the sharp drop in the Chinese market, but climbed into positive territory around midday and re-crossed the 9,000 point level.

The market received support from its most heavily weighted defensive stocks and also benefitted from a weaker franc. Traders are also expecting further stimulus measures from the European Central Bank at its meeting next week. Markets in the United States reopened for an abbreviated session on "Black Friday," but trading action was relatively subdued.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.39 percent Friday and finished at 9,002.96. The SMI finished the trading week with an overall decrease of 0.1 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.29 percent and the Swiss Performance Index rose 0.38 percent.

The top gainer of the session was Adecco, with an increase of 1.2 percent. Sika advanced 1.0 percent and Swiss Life added 1.1 percent. Baloise rose 0.6 percent, Swiss Re gained 0.4 percent and Zurich Insurance finished higher by 0.3 percent.

The positive performance of the index heavyweights provided support to the overall market. Nestlé increased 0.5 percent, Roche gained 0.6 percent and Novartis added 0.3 percent.

Richemont and Swatch both climbed 0.5 percent each. The strong performance of the US dollar helped the stocks to overcome the weakness caused by concerns over China.

Aryzta was the weakest performing stock of the session, with a drop of 3.0 percent. The baked goods group will report its first quarter results on Monday.

LafargeHolcim decreased 1.7 percent and Galenica weakened by 1.3 percent.