The Switzerland stock market closed on a firm note on Monday, in line with the positive trend seen across Europe, amid optimism about economic recovery despite the continued surge in coronavirus cases in several countries.
The benchmark SMI ended stronger by 96.66 points or 0.88% at 11,119.00. The index rose to a high of 11,148.06 around mid morning, and despite paring some gains before noon, recovered well and stayed firm right till the end of the session.
Lonza Group gained about 1.6%. Swiss Re, Partners Group, Roche Holding and Richemont firmed up by 1.3 to 1.4%. Zurich Insurance Group, Swatch Group, ABB, Alcon, LafargeHolcim, Credit Suisse and Geberit gained 0.8 to 1.1%.
Novartis gained about 0.8% after Sandoz, a Novartis unit, said it will begin enrolling the first patient in MYLIGHT, a clinical Phase III confirmatory efficacy and safety study, shortly.
UBS Group, Novartis, Sika, Swiss Life Holding, SGS and Givaudan also closed on a firm note.
Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, OC Oerlikon Corp rallied 3.1%, Flughafen Zurich and Straumann Holding both closed higher by about 2%, and Dufry gained 1.6%.
Sonova, Kuehne & Nagel, SIG Combibloc, Swiss Prime Site and AMS also closed notably higher.
Logitech declined by more than 2%, Tecan Group slid 1.6% and Clariant ended lower by about 1.2%, while BB Biotech shed nearly 1%.
On the vaccination front, the Swiss vaccination campaign is reportedly accelerating, despite hiccups and delays with deliveries.
Market Analysis
Swiss Market Closes On Firm Note
2021-05-03 18:15:51
