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The Switzerland stock market faltered after a positive start Wednesday morning, and after swinging between gains and losses till about an hour past noon, turned a bit steady and finally ended the day slightly above the flat line.<\/p>\n
Investors, digesting earnings announcements, were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.<\/p>\n
The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 11.38 points or 0.1% at 11,103.46, after moving in a narrow range between 11,070.72 and 11,126.69.<\/p>\n
Swatch Group moved up 2.2%, Credit Suisse advanced by about 2% and UBS Group gained 1.88%. Swiss Life Holding ended 1.3% up. Swiss Re, LafargeHolcim, Zurich Insurance Group, ABB and Richemont closed modestly higher.<\/p>\n
Roche Holding, Givaudan, Geberit and Swisscom ended lower by 0.3 to 1%.<\/p>\n
In the Mid Price Index, Dufry gained 3.6% and AMS advanced 1.4%. Cembra Money Bank gained 1%, while Helvetia, Julius Baer and SIG Combibloc closed higher by about 0.6%.<\/p>\n
Barry Callebaut tumbled 5.8%, Schindler Ps shed 3.4% and Schindler Holding declined 3.1%. Lindt & Spruengli, Vifor Pharma and Logitech also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n
A report from Credit Suisse & CFA Society Switzerland said the Swiss investor sentiment index rose by 1.6 points from the previous month to an all-time high of 68.3 in April, pointing to a strong recovery from the Covid-induced recession. The survey showed that the Swiss economy<\/span> is expected bounce back over the next six months, boosted by an improvement in export prospects. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n