The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a small gain and finished the week in the positive. The market got off to a good start this morning, but those early gains crumbled a bit later. The trading session was rather quiet on Friday, similar to Thursday's action.
Comments made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel helped keep alive hopes that the ECB will take some decisive steps to reduce surging borrowing costs. Merkel stated that Germany is committed to do everything it can to maintain the euro. In the afternoon came the announcement that U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in August.
The Swiss Market Index rose by 0.18 percent Friday and finished at 6,529.34. The SMI increased by 0.70 percent for the week. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.38 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.21 percent.
Swiss Life was one the strongest performers during Friday's session, finishing with a gain of 3.1 percent. Analysts were pleased with the company's report for the first half of the year. Swiss Life also signaled its confidence in the second half of the year.
Banks stocks also performed well on Friday. Credit Suisse climbed by 2.3 percent and UBS gained 1.6 percent. However, Julius Baer fell by 0.9 percent, after Citigroup downgraded the stock to "Neutral."
by RTT Staff Writer
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