After moving modestly higher early on in the session and suffering a couple of mild setbacks that pushed it down into the red for a few minutes, the Switzerland stock market managed to eventually close marginally up on Thursday.
The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 11,254.91 in early trades, ended with a gain of 15.81 points or 0.14% at 11,224.90, after declining to a low of 11,197.54.
Shares of Swiss lender Credit Suisse ended 2.1% down. The bank reported a net loss of 252 million Swiss francs ($295 million) in the first quarter. The bank said the loss reflected a “significant charge with respect to the US-based hedge fund Archegos Capital matter in the first quarter, offsetting positive performance across wealth management and investment banking.”
Sika declined 1.7% and Roche Holding ended lower by 1.36%. Zurich Insurance Group, Swisscom, LafargeHolcim, SGS and UBS Group lost 0.5 to 0.8%.
Nestle gained nearly 3%. Swatch Group ended 1.9% up and Lonza Group gained about 1.1%.
In the Mid Price segment, BB Biotech gained nearly 2.25%. Adecco moved up 1.87% and Straumann Holding gained 1.76%, while Sonova, Logitech, Flughafen Zurich, Kuehne & Nagel, Vifor Pharma and Georg Fischer moved up 0.7 to 1.25%.
Temenos Group, Julius Baer, Lindt & Spruengli and Baloise Holding lost 1 to 1.7%, while AMS and Dufry both ended nearly 1% down.
In economic news, Switzerland’s exports grew in the first quarter, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed. The report said exports increased 4.9% sequentially in the first quarter, following a 13% rise in the fourth quarter.
Imports grew 1.9% in the first quarter, after a 1.1% drop in the previous quarter. The trade surplus rose to CHF 11.28 billion in the first quarter from CHF 9.405 billion in the previous quarter.
Market Analysis
Swiss Market Closes Marginally Up
2021-04-22 18:23:08
