Swiss Market Ends On Bright Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a strong note on Friday, in line with markets across Europe, with investors indulging in some bargain hunting after recent losses.

Although worries about inflation and interest rates continued to linger, Fed Chair Powell's reaffirmation that the central bank isn't "actively considering" a 75 basis points hike helped lift sentiment.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 144.29 points or 1.25% at 11,650.42, the day's high.

Lonza Group climbed 3.65% and Alcon surged up 3.5%, while Credit Suisse, SGS, Holcim, Geberit and UBS Group gained 2.6 to 3.1%.

ABB, Partners Group, Logitech, Givaudan, Zurich Insurance Group, Richemont, Novartis and Swiss Life Holding ended higher by 1.3 to 2.1%.

Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, Straumann Holding rallied 7.35%. Sonova gained 5.3%. Tecan Group and Bachem Holding both gained about 4.1%.

Zur Rose, VAT Group, AMS, Kuehne & Nagel, Schindler Holding, Dufry, Julius Baer, BB Biotech, Georg Fischer and SIG Combibloc gained 2.3 to 3.6%.