The Swiss stock market closed to the upside Monday, extending its gains from late last week. The results of the EU summit last Friday provided some much needed relief to investors. European leaders agreed on a 120-billion-euro growth pact and unveiled short-term measures to help Spain and Italy. The leaders also agreed to allow bailout funds to recapitalize banks directly.
The market got off to a slow start on Monday, but quickly gained ground as the morning progressed. The lower than expected U.S. ISM manufacturing result in the afternoon sparked a brief pull back. However, the better than expected U.S. construction data helped to alleviate some of the negativity.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.70 percent Monday and finished at 6,109.41. The Swiss Leader Index gained 0.62 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.67 percent.
The overall market received support from the positive performance of the index heavyweights at the start of the new trading week. Roche climbed by 0.7 percent and Novartis gained 0.9 percent. Shares of Nestle finished higher by 0.8 percent.
Baloise was among the best performing stocks on Monday, with an increase of 1.4 percent. The insurance group completed the divestiture of the German-Ring companies. Swiss Life also finished up by 1.1 percent and Swiss Re added 0.9 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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