The Swiss Stock Market Finished Little Changed Ahead Of Fed Meeting

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a slight increase. The market got off to a weak start Friday, but climbed into positive territory late in the morning and remainder there throughout the afternoon. The market has been moving sideways for the past few sessions amidst a flurry of corporate financial reports.

Traders were in a cautious mood at the end of the trading week, ahead of the Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve policy meetings next week. Investors will also be keeping an eye on the meeting of the G20 in China over the weekend, where finance ministers will discuss the global economic situation.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.15 percent Friday and finished at 8,194.73. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 0.5 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.07 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.19 percent.

Shares of Syngenta were in focus Friday. The company reported half year figures that came in below expectations. However, the company expects that its proposed merger with ChemChina will be completed by the end of the year. The stock climbed 1.6 percent.

Lonza was another notable gainer, with an increase of 1.8 percent. Galenica rose 2.1 percent, but the stock sank 11 percent yesterday after it agreed to acquire U.S. company Relypsa.

Index heavyweight Novartis rose 0.5 percent Friday and was up about 2.5 percent for the week. Roche dipped 0.1 percent Friday and finished the week with an overall loss of about 2 percent.

Actelion advanced 0.9 percent and Sika added 0.7 percent. Sonova climbed 0.6 percent and ABB gained 0.3 percent. Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating on shares of ABB to "Hold" from "Sell."

Swatch declined 2.0 percent and Richemont lost 0.7 percent. Swatch finished with a modest increase yesterday, despite the announcement that watch exports broke down further in June.