Swiss Market Ends On Buoyant Note; UBS Soars

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market ended on a buoyant note on Tuesday, with strong results and optimism about interest rate cuts triggering sustained buying at several counters.

The benchmark SMI, which kept moving higher after a firm start, ended with a gain of 183.31 points or 1.64% at 11,512.97, a few points off the day's high of 11,526.26.

UBS Group shares climbed about 7.6% as the lender returned to profit after two loss-making quarters. The lender reported a net profit of US$1,755 million for the first-quarter, compared to a net loss of US$279 million in the preceding quarter. In the quarter ended March 2023, the lender had posted a net profit of US$1,029 million.

Geberit climbed 4.7%. Givaudan, Novartis, Partners Group, SIG Group, Roche Holdings, Sonova, Sika, Straumann Holdings and Lindt Spruengli gained 1.4 to 2.1%.

Zurich Insurance Group, Alcon, Swiss Life Holding, Julius Baer, Logitech International, Swiss Re and Nestle also posted strong gains.

Sandoz Group ended down by 2.52%. Swatch Group ended modestly lower, while SGS ended flat.