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The Switzerland stock market ended on a bright note for a second successive day, thanks to sustained buying at several counters on Tuesday, amid rising optimism about faster economic recovery.<\/p>\n
The benchmark SMI, which edged down slightly in early trades, quickly moved above the flat line and stayed firm right through the session. The index ended with a gain of 110.56 points or 1.03% at 10,817.15, after hitting a high of 10,855.99.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the SMI ended with a gain of 184.37 points or 1.75%.<\/p>\n
Sika rallied 3.1%. The company, which produces construction chemicals, announced that it has developed a recycling process for old concrete and said that the development will make a significant contribution to reducing the ecological footprint of the construction industry.<\/p>\n
Swiss Re gained 2.6% after saying it has partnered with Finland-based ICEYE, a commercial radar satellite operator and flood monitoring provider. The strategic deal will advance flood risk management, assist disaster response and speed up claims payments globally, Swiss Re said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Zurich Insurance Group ended higher by about 2.55%. Novartis, LafargeHolcim, Geberit, UBS Group, ABB, Givaudan and Partners Group gained 1 to 1.6%.<\/p>\n
Swiss Life Holding climbed 1.6%, shrugging off early weakness. The insurer reported that its fiscal 2020 net profit declined 13% from last year to 1.05 billion Swiss francs.<\/p>\n
Nestle, Swisscom, Alcon and Lonza Group ended with modest gains, while Credit Suisse ended lower by about 2.5%.<\/p>\n
Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, Lindt & Spruengli ended 3.5% up and Vifor Pharma gained 2.8%. OC Oerlikon Corp, Baloise Holding, Temenos Group and Adecco gained 1.7 to 2.2%. Helvetia, Schindler Holding, Barry Callebaut and BB Biotech also ended notably higher.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, AMS, Dufry and SIG Combibloc lost 3.2 to 4.4%. Flughafen Zurich ended 1.56% down, while Julius Baer ended nearly 1% down. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n