The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Slight Gain Despite Novartis Weakness

(RTTNews) - After yesterday's strong performance, the Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session with a slight increase. The weak performance of index heavyweight Novartis weighed on the market. The market managed to climb into positive territory after the late recovery in crude oil prices.

Global equity markets have largely been tied to the movements in the crude oil market since the start of 2016. Markets rallied yesterday, after crude oil prices rose above $32 a barrel. However, oil prices retreated back to around $30 per barrel in early trade Wednesday. Prices rebounded in the afternoon, after the release of the U.S. crude inventory data.

Investors also adopted a cautious attitude ahead of the Federal Reserve announcement, which will be released after the close of the European markets. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the wording of the accompanying statement will be closely scrutinized.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.10 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,322.68. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.62 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.19 percent.

The weak performance of Novartis weighed on the overall market Wednesday. The pharmaceutical giant sank 3.7 percent after its fourth quarter earnings fell short of expectations. Investors also expressed concerns over the company's restrained outlook.

The rest of the index heavyweights fared much better. Roche ended the session with a gain of 1 percent and Nestle finished higher by 0.9 percent.

The luxury goods companies were able to recover from a weak start. Richemont climbed 2.3 percent and Swatch added 0.9 percent.

Transocean increased 3.1 percent, thanks to the late recovery in crude oil prices. Other notable gainers were, ABB with an increase of 2.2 percent and Julius Baer, which rose 2.3 percent.

Lonza advanced 0.8 percent, after the specialty chemicals company reported full year results.

Zurich Insurance rose 1.5 percent after Mario Greco was appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Clariant dipped 0.5 percent, after HSBC and Exane BNP lowered their price targets on the stock.