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The Switzerland stock market ended on a positive note on Thursday, in line with the trend seen in most of the markets<\/span> across Europe, amid continued optimism about global economic recovery.<\/p>\n Worries about rising coronavirus<\/span> cases and slowdown in vaccination drive capped market’s upside.<\/p>\n The benchmark SMI, which stayed positive right through the day, ended the session with a gain of 42.49 points or 0.38% at 11,198.70, after scaling a high of 11,226.25.<\/p>\n ABB shares gained about 3.15% after the company raised its full-year sales outlook.<\/p>\n Lonza Group and Sika ended higher by 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively, while Alcon and Novartis both ended higher by about 0.85%. Nestle gained a little over 0.5%.<\/p>\n Partners Group and Swatch Group ended lower by 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. UBS Group shed about 0.7%, while LafargeHolcim, Swiss Life Holding and SGS lost 0.4 to 0.5%.<\/p>\n In the Mid Price Index, Vifor Pharma gained about 2.15%. Galenica Sante, BB Biotech, Clariant, Kuehne & Nagel and SIG Combibloc moved up 1.1 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n VAT Group shares declined 3.8%. AMS and Dufry shed 2.2% and 2%, respectively, while OC Oerlikon Corp declined 1.56% and Flughafen Zurich lost about 1%.<\/p>\n Switzerland’s government announced Wednesday it would significantly ease its Covid-19 restrictions from April 19, despite the fact that the country’s epidemic “remains fragile and has even worsened in recent weeks”. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n