The Swiss stock market recovered from the losses of the previous session and finished to the upside on Wednesday. Positive economic news from both Asia and the U.S. provided support to the financial and cyclical stocks. China also promised that it would continue investing in debt issued by euro-zone governments.
The Greek debt situation remained in focus Wednesday. There was speculation among investors that there could be a suspension of aid payments to Greece. The negotiations on the new cash injection of EUR 130 billion are still ongoing.
The Swiss Market Index rose by 34 points Wednesday and closed at 6,198, a gain of 0.56%. The Swiss Leader Index advanced by 0.81% and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.59%.
Clariant was among the standout performers during Wednesday's session, finished with a gain of 5.7%. The company's net income exceeded the majority of expectations and it announced that it will pay a dividend for the first time in 3 year. Other cyclical stocks of note today were shares of Nobel Biocare, which rose by 4.9% and shares of Adecco, which increased by 2.5%.
Julius Baer was the leader among the financial stocks Wednesday, with a gain of 2.3%. Fellow banking stocks Credit Suisse and UBS rose by 1.0% and 0.8% respectively. The defensive heavyweights also closed to the upside today. Nestle climbed by 0.4%, Novartis rose by 0.5% and Roche increased by 0.1%.
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