The Swiss Stock Market Climbed After Better Than Expected U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a significant increase and finished positive for the week. Trading activity was stagnant early Friday, as the market maintained slight gains in a narrow range. However, the market broke out higher in the afternoon, following the release of the stronger than expected U.S. jobs report.

U.S. employment surged up by 255,000 jobs in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 292,000 jobs in June. Employment had been expected to increase by about 185,000 jobs. The massive stimulus package announced by the Bank of England yesterday also contributed to the positive mood among investors at the end of the week.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.40 percent Friday and finished at 8,194.34. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 0.8 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 1.50 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.26 percent.

LafargeHolcim was the top gainer of the session, with an increase of 5.0 percent. The building materials giant reaffirmed its guidance after delivering a better-than-expected operating profit in its second quarter.

UBS advanced 2.9 percent and Credit Suisse climbed 3.2 percent. The banks continued their recovery after Tuesday's sharp drop, following the results of the EU stress test. Julius Baer also gained 1.7 percent.

Swiss Life increased 1.8 percent and Swiss Re added 1.5 percent. Zurich Insurance advanced 1.5 percent and Baloise rose 1.4 percent.

Index heavyweight Roche jumped 1.9 percent. The U.S. FDA granted approval of a generic version of Roche's influenza drug Tamiflu. Novartis rose 1.3 percent and Nestlé finished higher by 0.7 percent.

Aryzta was the biggest loser of the session, with a decrease of 1.0 percent. Lonza also fell 0.4 percent after U.S. company Bristol-Myers Squibb announced the failure of its Phase 3 study of Opdivo. Lonza is involved in the production of Opdivo.

In the broad market, warehouse logistician Interroll surged 9.1 percent after it reported a significant improvement in earnings.