The Swiss Stock Market Climbed Sharply Following Steep Drop From SNB Decision

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market finished sharply to the upside Monday, as the market attempts to recover from the sharp decline of the previous two trading sessions. The Swiss National Bank abandoned its currency "ceiling" of CHF 1.2 per euro on Thursday of the previous week, which caused the market to drop from a level of 9,200 points to nearly 7,800.

The European Central Bank will hold its monetary policy meeting on Thursday and an announcement regarding government bond purchases is largely expected. Investors will also be watching for the result of the Greek elections on Sunday.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 3.21 percent Monday and closed at 8,152.78. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 3.08 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 3.03 percent.

Julius Baer surged by 5.9 percent Monday, after the bank dropped by 20 percent late last week. The company announced that it did not suffer any losses following the SNB's decision abandoning its euro cap on the franc.

UBS increased by 4.1 percent and Credit Suisse added 1.2 percent. Zurich Insurance and Baloise both advanced by 3.7 percent and Swiss Life increased by 4.1 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished in the green Monday. Novartis and Nestle both climbed by 3.5 percent and Roche gained 2.5 percent.

Cyclical stocks also turned in a positive performance. Richemont rose by 4.7 percent and Swatch gained 2.3 percent. Shares of Geberit advanced by 5.5 percent. Syngenta increased by 4.7 percent, Aryzta by 3.9 percent and Lonza gained 3.6 percent.