Swiss Market Ends 2023 On A Winning Note

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market on Friday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 100 points or 0.9 percent.

The SMI posted its best annual gain since 2021 on hopes that global central banks led by the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next year.

Regional volumes remained light on the last trading day of the year, with investors securing a bit of window dressing ahead of the New Year holiday.

For the day, the index improved 80.24 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 11,137.79 after trading between 11,085.70 and 11,143.59.

Among the actives, Swiss Life climbed 1.14 percent, while Novartis advanced 0.99 percent, Zurich Insurance gained 0.87 percent, Swisscom added 0,68 percent, UBS Group collected 0.62 percent, Swatch Group rose 0.35 percent and Adecco Group dipped 0.05 percent.

In economic news, Switzerland's leading index rose to an eight-month high in December, the results of a survey by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed Friday.

The KOF economic barometer advanced to 97.8 in December from revised 97.2 in November. This was the highest reading since April and also stayed above economists' forecast of 97.0. The increase was primarily attributable to bundles of indicators in the manufacturing sector and indicators for private consumption.