The Swiss Stock Market Extended Its Gains & Finished The Week Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in the green, brining its winning streak to four sessions. The market was up slightly in early trade and extended its gains after the positive opening of the U.S. markets. Despite the weakness at the beginning of the week, the market turned in its best weekly performance since the spring of 2015.

The mood among investors has calmed since the initial shock of the "Brexit" at the end of the prior week. Central banks have convinced investors that they are ready to step in if necessary. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney hinted at providing further stimulus in a speech on Thursday.

On the economic front, disappointing Chinese manufacturing data was offset by the recovery in the euro area manufacturing. The stronger than expected U.S. manufacturing report also provided a boost to investor sentiment.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.81 percent Friday and finished at 8,085.21. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 4.4 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 1.05 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.88 percent.

The banks turned in a solid performance Friday. Credit Suisse climbed 2.1 percent and Julius Baer gained 2.4 percent. Shares of UBS also finished higher by 0.7 percent.

Among the insurance stocks, Baloise rose 1.2 percent and Swiss Life increased 1.8 percent. Zurich Insurance also advanced 0.8 percent, after JP Morgan upgraded its rating on the stock to "Overweight" from "Neutral."

Lonza gained 3.2 percent. The company announced that it has agreed to acquire U.S. company Triangle Research. Galenica rose 3.0 percent after its subsidiary Vifor Pharma has signed an agreement with Helsinn Group to market Aloxi in Spain.

Clariant advanced 2.6 percent after a price target increase by JP Morgan. Adecco gained 1.5 percent, while LafargeHolcim and Schindler both added 1.2 percent each.

Among the index heavyweights, Roche rose 0.2 percent and Novartis climbed 0.4 percent. Shares of Nestle also finished higher by 1.2 percent.

Swatch and Richemont both increased by 1.1 percent. JP Morgan lowered its price target on both stocks, but maintained their "Neutral" rating.

In the broad market, Temenos jumped 3.1 percent after Standard Chartered selected its wealth management program.