The Swiss stock market closed little changed on Tuesday, but managed a slight gain. The market got off to a positive start this morning, due to hopes for a solution to the banking crisis in Spain. The held an emergency meeting today to discuss the worsening economic situation in the Eurozone.
The weaker than expected retail sales reported by the Eurozone and the sharp decline in Germany industrial orders put pressure on the markets in early trade. However, the mood brightened in the afternoon, following the better than expected U.S. non-manufacturing report.
The Swiss Market Index rose by 0.02 percent Tuesday and closed at 5,714.57. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.21 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.08 percent.
Financial stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with gains among the banks, but losses among insurers. Credit Suisse climbed by 0.6 percent and UBS gained 0.1 percent. Julius Baer also finished higher by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, Swiss Re declined by 0.7 percent and Zurich lost 0.6 percent.
Economically sensitive stocks were among the best performers on Tuesday. Transocean increased by 2.3 percent, Clariant rose by 2.4 percent and Schindler finished up by 1.4 percent. Swatch and Richemont also gained 0.7 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.
by RTT Staff Writer
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