The Swiss Stock Market Clung To A Small Increase

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market got off to a positive start Friday, but pared its gains over the course of the trading session. The stock managed to cling to a small increase, but ended the day little changed overall.

Early strength was sparked by optimism for U.S. tax reform, after the Republican plan was passed by the Senate. However, the weak performance of index heavyweights Roche and Nestlé pressured the overall market.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.04 percent Friday and finished at 9,237.13. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall loss of 0.8 percent, following five straight weeks of gains. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.45 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.06 percent.

Roche dropped 1.8 percent, extending its losses from the previous session. The company had released quarterly results on Thursday. Nestlé also weakened by 0.5 percent, following its report yesterday. However, Novartis ended the day higher by 0.1 percent.

Sonova declined 0.9 percent after Vontobel Research downgraded its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."

??Credit Suisse climbed 2.3 percent and UBS rose 1.5 percent.

Swiss Re increased 1.7 percent. The company estimates that the expected costs of the US hurricanes and the two earthquakes in Mexico at USD 3.6 billion.

Zurich Insurance advanced 1.1 percent, Bâloise gained 1.4 percent and Swiss Life added 1.0 percent.

Vifor Pharma was the top performing stock of the session, with an increase of 2.8 percent.