The Swiss Stock Market Climbed Friday, With Strength In Novartis

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in positive territory. The market got off to a weak start, but recovered in the afternoon on the strength of index heavyweight Novartis. However, the market did give back some of its gains heading into the close.

Investor sentiment took a hit from the unexpected dip in German business confidence early Friday. Investors were pleased with the jump in U.S. durable goods orders in the afternoon, but disappointed by the downward revision to consumer sentiment.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.20 percent Friday and finished at 8,249.31. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 2.0 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.08 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.17 percent.

Novartis climbed by 0.9 percent Friday. The stock has been adding to its gains since Tuesday, when it reported third quarter results. Jefferies also affirmed its "Buy" rating on the stock. Shares of Roche also gained 0.3 percent and Nestle added 0.1 percent.

Credit Suisse dropped by 0.8 percent Friday, after JP Morgan downgraded it to "Neutral" from "Overweight." However, UBS finished higher by 0.4 percent.