The Swiss Stock Market Rallied & Finished Positive For The Week

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a solid gain. After a volatile morning, the market stabilized in the afternoon and climbed in late trade. The positive performance on Wall Street provided a boost to the Swiss market in the afternoon.

Slightly firmer oil prices helped the market to bounce back from yesterday's weak performance. Thursday's weakness was sparked by investor concerns over a potential June interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors are also keeping an eye on the G7 meeting, which is taking place in Japan.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.12 percent Friday and finished at 7,997.30 points. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 0.9 percent. The Swiss Leader Index gained 0.96 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index rose 1.09 percent.

Shares of Richemont were in focus at the end of the trading week. The stock sank 4.3 percent and was down nearly 6 percent at its intraday low. The luxury goods company released disappointing full year figures said it remains doubtful of any meaningful improvement in the trading environment in the near term. Competitor Swatch also finished lower by 2.8 percent.

Galenica ended the session with a gain of 2.5 percent. The company has agreed to acquire wholesaler Pharmapool for nearly 30 million CHF.

Credit Suisse advanced 2.0 percent and UBS added 1.0 percent. Zurich Insurance also closed higher by 1.9 percent.

Schindler increased 2.3 percent after it received an order from the Istanbul Grand Airport. Geberit also climbed 1.5 percent.

Roche jumped 2.1 percent and Novartis gained 1.8 percent. Fellow index heavyweight Nestle also finished up by 0.8 percent.

Julius Baer rose 1.4 percent. The company delivered a somewhat mixed interim statement yesterday.

In the broad market, Temenos gained 2.7 percent after a new order from Canada.

Santhera climbed 1.8 percent after it was granted "fast-track" by the U.S. FDA for Omigapil.