The Swiss Stock Market Surged Back Above 8,000 Points On Pharma Strength

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a sharp increase, extending its winning streak to five sessions. The market broke out past the 8,100 point level at its intraday high, its highest level since mid-October. The strong performance of the pharmaceutical stocks drove the market higher.

The ECB announced Thursday that bond purchases will be extended till the end of next year, which is longer-than-expected, but its pace will ease after March. Investor sentiment remained positive after the ECB announcement and today's stronger than expected U.S. consumer sentiment report.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.84 percent Friday and finished at 8,099.63. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 4.1 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.81 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.64 percent.

The strong performance of the index heavyweights was the driving force behind today's gains. Novartis jumped 3.3 percent and Roche surged 3.4 percent. Novartis published promising study data on a breast cancer drug in the afternoon. Shares of Nestlé also advanced 3.4 percent.

Shares of Actelion increased 3.1 percent Friday. Aryzta climbed 3.8 percent and Sonova gained 2.1 percent.

Galenica finished higher by 2.0 percent and Swisscom rose 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, bank stocks were under pressure at the end of the trading week. UBS dropped 2.6 percent and Credit Suisse fell 1.6 percent.

In the broad market, Straumann surged 5.9 percent after it was upgraded to "Overweight" by Morgan Stanley. Cosmo also gained 3.3 percent after it was rated a "Buy" at Berenberg.