Swiss Market Closed Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended modestly higher on Thursday after a choppy ride, as investors stayed largely cautious, closely following the developments in Brussels.

The happenings in Brussels were in focus today with a NATO Summit, a meeting of the European Union leaders and a G-7 summit taking place in the capital city of Belgium.

Investors also digested the Swiss National Bank's policy announcement. The central bank left its expansionary monetary policy unchanged today. The bank repeated that it is willing to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary, in order to counter upward pressure on the Swiss franc. The Swiss franc remains highly valued, the bank said.

The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 31.95 points or 0.26% at 12,131.45, after climbing to a high of 12,147.96. The index dropped to a low of 12,069.10 a little before noon.

Partners Group declined more than 4%. Richemont and ABB shed 2.1% and 2%, respectively. Lonza Group and Holcim both ended lower by nearly 1%.

Logitech rallied over 4%. Roche Holding gained nearly 2%, while Givaudan and Nestle both ended higher by about 1.1%.

In the Mid Price section, Zur Rose plunged 12.7%. Schindler Holding drifted down 4%. Schindler Ps ended 2.6% down and VAT Group declined 2.36%.

Georg Fischer, Straumann Holding, Ems Chemie Holding, Barry Callebaut and BB Biotech also ended notably lower.

Policymakers of the central bank decided to retain the policy rate and interest on sight deposits at the SNB at -0.75%.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a strong increase in uncertainty worldwide. Against this backdrop, the SNB with its monetary policy is ensuring price stability and supporting the Swiss economy, the bank added.

The bank upgraded its inflation outlook for this year due to the significant increase in prices for oil products. Inflation is forecast to rise to 2.1% this year instead of 1% projected in December. For 2023 and 2024, inflation is seen at 0.9%.

The SNB noted that the war in Ukraine has had an effect on the Swiss economy above all via the strong increase in commodity prices. The central bank anticipated GDP growth of around 2.5%, this being lower than its previous forecast.

It is difficult to assess the future course of the war and its economic impact. The risks to growth are considerable and to the downside, said SNB.