The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Small Gain As Health Stocks Rise

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session with a slight increase. Trading activity was fairly quiet following the long Christmas holiday weekend. That trend is likely to continue for the remainder of the week.

Investors are already shifting their focus to the coming new year. Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the new President of the United States in January. Key elections will also be taking place in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.33 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,259.45. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.35 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.36 percent.

Galenica was among the top performing stocks of the session, with a gain of 1.8 percent. The stock jumped on a report that the company is planning to split into a pharmaceutical and a logistics / pharmacy company in the first quarter.

The index heavyweights also finished in positive territory Tuesday. Roche climbed 0.6 percent and Novartis rose 0.3 percent. Shares of Sonova also increased 0.8 percent.

UBS advanced 0.6 percent Tuesday, while Credit Suisse declined 0.5 percent.

Cyclical stocks also performed well at the start of the holiday shortened trading week. Richemont gained 1.1 percent, Adecco rose 1.0 percent and LafargeHolcim added 0.9 percent. Lonza advanced 1.2 percent and Aryzta increased 1.0 percent.

Actelion forfeited 0.5 percent. The stock jumped at the end of the previous week after it was announced that it has entered into exclusive merger discussions with U.S. company Johnson & Johnson.