Swiss Market Ends Higher For 2nd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market closed on a positive note on Friday, in line with most of the markets in Europe, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the bank will begin reducing its bond purchases before end of the year.

Powell added that he still feels there's "much ground to cover" before rate hikes.

The benchmark SMI ended with a modest gain of 29.97 points or 0.24% at 12,439.00 after moving between 12,381.79 and 12,453.12.

The SMI ended with a gain of 44.46 points or 0.36% on Tuesday, buoyed by encouraging jobs data.

Lonza Group shares climbed 1.8%. Nestle, Givaudan, Holcim, SGS and Geberit gained 0.5 to 0.7%.

Credit Suisse, ABB, UBS Group and Richemont ended lower by 0.3 to 0.45%.

In the Mid Price Index, Lindt & Spruengli AG N, PSP Swiss Property, Lindt & Spruengli AG Part and AMS gained 2 to 2.8%.

Kuehne & Nagel, Vifor Pharma, Sonova, Barry Callebaut, VAT Group and Straumann Holding ended stronger by 1 to 1.8%.

Galenica Sante and Logitech ended lower by 1.3% and 1.06%, respectively.

Fed chair Powell said the economy has reached a point where it no longer needs as much policy support, indicating the Fed might start reducing the amount of bonds it purchases each month before the end of 2021, provided the economy continues to progress.

However, he added that he still feels there's "much ground to cover" before rate hikes.