The Swiss stock market finished to the upside on Tuesday, recovering from yesterday's weakness. Investors turned hopeful that an early solution to the debt crisis would be found by the European Central Bank. The market also received support from the positive performance of the U.S. stock markets, where the S&P 500 Index climbed to its highest level since May 2008.
The trading day lacked major news, mostly due to a lack of economic reports. A successful debt auction by Spain and reports that China is planning new economic stimulus for the second half of the year also contributed to the positive mood.
The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.19 percent Tuesday and finished at 6,518.32. The Swiss Leader Index increased by 0.47 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.16 percent.
Julius Baer climbed by 3.12 percent Tuesday. The lender said Monday that it would limit its proposed rights offering to 500 million Swiss francs, from the previous plan of 750 million francs, as part of its capital raise to fund its acquisition of Bank of America Corp.'s non-US wealth management unit.
The remainder of the financial stocks also turned in a strong performance. Credit Suisse increased by 4.4 percent and UBS added 3.0 percent. Swiss Life climbed by 3.0 percent, Swiss Re gained 0.8 percent and Baloise added 1.1 percent.
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