The Swiss stock market rebounded from 5 consecutive sessions of losses on Thursday, finishing solidly in positive territory. The market re-crossed the 8,000 point level during the session, but was unable to close above it. Investor sentiment was driven by positive economic data from China and from Europe.
The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its most recent meeting late Wednesday. Investors were left without clarity on when the central bank plans to proceed with tapering its stimulus measures. However, U.S. weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected in the afternoon. The Fed will be watching U.S. employment data very closely.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 1.29 percent Thursday and finished at 7,988.60. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 1.34 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.26 percent.
Financial stocks turned in a strong performance Thursday. UBS climbed by 2.6 percent and Credit Suisse added 2.3 percent. Swiss Re advanced by 2.0 percent. Zurich Insurance rose 1.5 percent and Baloise gained 1.6 percent.
The index heavyweights all finished in the green Thursday. Roche increased by 1.4 percent and Novartis added 1.0 percent Nestle finished with a gain of 0.9 percent. Luxury goods companies were also up on the Chinese manufacturing data and Swiss watch export data. Swatch climbed by 2.0 percent and Richemont gained 1.9 percent.
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