The Swiss Stock Market Climbed Back Above 8,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session in the green, extending the recovery of the last few days. The market rose back above the 8,000 point level and managed to close above it despite a brief dip into negative territory in the afternoon. The reversal in crude oil prices helped the market to recover going into the close.

Cautious optimism appears to have returned to the Swiss market. Investor hopes for further stimulus measures in China and an improving outlook for the U.S. economy had investors in a positive mood. Stronger than expected U.S. private sector employment data has investors looking forward to the release of the U.S. employment report on Friday.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.98 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,039.89. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.84 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.76 percent.

Banks were among the best performing stocks across Europe Wednesday, following comments made by ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure. Credit Suisse surged 6.7 percent and UBS gained 3.2 percent.

Transocean jumped 7.1 percent Wednesday, thanks to the late rise in crude oil prices.

Swiss Life advanced 1.3 percent, following its better than expected earnings report yesterday. Zurich Insurance rose 1.7 percent and LafargeHolcim climbed 1.8 percent.

The solid performance of the pharma heavyweights provided support to the overall market. Roche increased 1.6 percent and Novartis added 1.2 percent. However, Nestle ended the day with a loss of 0.2 percent.

Kuehne + Nagel declined 1.2 percent after its full year results met expectations. The company's Board will propose a 2015 dividend of 5.00 Swiss francs per share, but investors had hoped for more.

Sika ended the session with a loss of 1.7 percent. Geberit weakened by 1.5 percent and Givaudan fell 1.2 percent.