Swiss Market Ends Marginally Higher

(RTTNews) - After a positive start and a subsequent drop to lower levels, the Switzerland market stayed subdued till a little before noon on Wednesday, but climbed higher subsequently, and despite paring gains as the day progressed, ended the session slightly up.

The mood was a bit cautious with investors awaiting data on Swiss inflation and unemployment, due on Thursday.

The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 7.28 points or 0.06% at 12,018.30, after moving between 11,996.00 and 12,067.18.

SIG Group climbed 3.55%, Lindt & Spruengli gained 3.04%, Julius Baer, Lonza Group and Kuehne + Nagel ended higher by 1.9 to 2.2%, and Holcim rallied 1.71%.

SGS, Geberit, Partners Group, UBS Group, Sandoz Group and ABB gained 1 to 1.5%. Straumann Holding, Swatch Group, Swisscom and Schindler Ps ended moderately higher.

Zehnder Group shares gained nearly 4% after announcing its acquisition of Spanish residential ventilation manufacturer Siber for 86 million euros.

Swiss Life Holding, Roche Holding, Alcon, Zurich Insurance Group and Swiss Re lost 0.8 to 1.1%.