Swiss Market Ends Marginally Higher

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market closed marginally up on Monday after staying positive almost right through the day's session.

Concerns about the new variant of coronavirus Omicron eased a bit after a South African doctor who has treated cases said symptoms so far seemed to be mild.

However, with the World Health Organization saying that it could take weeks to understand the variant's severity, the mood remained a bit cautious.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 21.53 points or 0.18% at 12,220.74, after moving between 12,193.76 and 12,285.80.

Richemont gained more than 4%. Partners Group climbed nearly 3%, while Swiss Life Holding, Sika and ABB gained 1.82%, 1.76% and 1.4%, respectively. UBS Group gained nearly 1%.

Logitech, Holcim, Lonza Group, Swisscom and Novartis ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, VAT Group, Straumann Holding and AMS gained about 3%, 2.8% and 2.3%, respectively. Dufry and Swatch Group both gained nearly 2%.

Tecan Group, Zur Rose, PSP Swiss Property, Adecco, Temenos Group, Swiss Prime Site and Galenica Sante shed 1.2 to 2.7%.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government said on Sunday that the first probable case of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been detected in the country. Following this, the government has tightened entry restrictions to check its spread, imposing a flight ban on direct flights from southern African countries.

The Swiss government has also imposed a negative test for those boarding a flight and quarantine for ten days for travelers from Hong Kong, Belgium, Australia, Denmark, Britan, the Czech Republic and Israel, where there are cases of the new Omicron variant.