The Swiss Stock Market Climbed On The Strength Of Novartis

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock markets ended Friday's session with a modest gain. The market temporarily re-crossed the 8,600 point level and has made up more than half of what it lost following the SNB shock from mid-January. The strong performance of index heavyweight Novartis provided a boost to the overall market, as well as gains in UBS and ABB.

The market also received support from the United States in the afternoon. Employment in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated in the month of January. Employment for the months of November and December were also revised upward.

The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.51 percent Friday and finished at 8,587.99. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 2.4 percent. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.27 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.44 percent.

Novartis was the top gainer among the index heavyweights Friday, rising by 1.9 percent. Roche climbed by 0.3 percent, but Nestle dipped by 0.3 percent.

The highlight of the trading session was the strong performance of Sunrise, which made its trading debut Friday. Switzerland's second-largest wireless carrier finished almost 12 percent higher than its IPO price. Meanwhile, Swisscom ended the day lower by 0.6 percent.

Financial stocks also finished to the upside Friday. Julius Baer led the way, with a gain of 2.0 percent. UBS climbed by 0.9 percent and Credit Suisse rose by 0.3 percent.

ABB extended its gains from the previous session, with an increase of 0.8 percent. The company's fourth quarter and full year financial report from yesterday has been viewed favorably at the end of the trading week. Barclays upgraded its rating on the stock Friday to "Overweight."

Switzerland's retail sales grew at a faster pace in December, the Federal Statistical Office reported Friday. Retail sales grew by real and seasonally adjusted 1 percent from November, when it rose by 0.6 percent. Excluding fuel, sales advanced 1.7 percent, following the 0.2 percent rise in November.