The Swiss Stock Market Added To Its Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session with a modest increase, extending its gains from the previous 3 sessions. The market dropped into the red in early trade, but stabilized around midday. The positive opening of the U.S. markets drove the Swiss market higher in the afternoon.

Investors were in a cautious mood ahead of Thursday's U.K. referendum on whether it will remain a member of the European Union. While recent polls have shown increased support for the "Remain" camp, the issue remains too close to call.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.46 percent Wednesday and finished at 7,972.14. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.67 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.39 percent.

The financial stocks turned in another solid performance Wednesday. Credit Suisse advanced 2.2 percent and UBS climbed 1.6 percent. Julius Baer rose 1.4 percent after an upgrade by Citigroup to "Buy." Zurich Insurance increased 2.0 percent after Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral." Swiss Re also added 1.1 percent.

Schindler gained 0.6 percent after it was upgraded by RBC Capital Markets to "Sector Perform" from "Underperform." Dufry increased and SGS both increased 1.3 percent, while Adecco gained 1.1 percent.

The pharma heavyweights finished the session in the green. Novartis climbed 0.7 percent and Roche added 0.1 percent. However, Nestle finished with a loss of 0.2 percent.

The luxury good companies recovered some ground after yesterday's pull back on watch export data. Richemont gained 0.9 percent and Swatch rose 0.1 percent.

LafargeHolcim rose 1.4 percent as it defends itself against allegations related to its cement plant in Syria. French newspaper "Le Monde" accused the company of entering into arrangements with the Islamic State.