The Swiss Stock Market Climbed On Strength Of Nestle

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session in the green, extending yesterday's gains. The market rose back above the 8,000 point level today, after slipping below that mark last month. The strong performance of index heavyweight Nestle propelled the market higher. Investor hopes for an agreement on a production freeze between top oil producers at the upcoming Doha meeting also added to the positive mood.

Today's economic data from the U.S. also solidified the opinion among investors that the Fed will not raise interest rate in April. The increase in U.S. consumer prices came in weaker than anticipated and weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.09 percent Thursday and finished at 8,021.00. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.68 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.94 percent.

Index heavyweight Nestle advanced 2.0 percent. The food group confirmed its full-year outlook after reporting first-quarter sales that beat analysts' estimates.

The banks extended their gains from the previous session. Julius Baer jumped 2.4 percent and UBS added 1.1 percent. Shares of Credit Suisse rose 0.1 percent. Swiss Re gained 1.4 percent and Zurich Insurance finished higher by 1.1 percent. Swiss Re is reportedly interested in acquiring Deutsche Bank's Abbey Life Insurance.

Pharma heavyweights Novartis and Roche both increased by 1.1 percent. The two companies will both reported financial results next week. Actelion ended the session with a gain of 0.6 percent.

Lonza declined 0.9 percent. The company has reportedly offered to acquire American pharmaceutical supplier Catalent.

Sika dropped 2.1 percent after it began trading ex-dividend. Sonova surrendered 0.5 percent after its competitor William Demant presented a Hearing Aid Innovation at a trade show.