Swiss Market Ends Flat Again

(RTTNews) - After spending almost the entire session in negative territory, the Switzerland market ended flat on Wednesday with stocks finding some support in the closing minutes.

With no significant economic data to provide direction, the mood remained largely cautious.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 1.52 points or 0.01% at 11,404.77, the day's high. The index touched a low of 11,327.93.

Sonova climbed nearly 3% and Credit Suisse ended 2.83% up. Logitech and Partners Group ended lower by about 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively.

Lonza Group soared nearly 7.5%. Holcim and Novartis ended with modest gains.

In the Mid Price Index, Zur Rose ended down 3.48%. SIG Combibloc and Tecan Group shed about 2.7% and 2.25%, respectively.

Belimo Holding, VAT Group, Galenica Sante, Kuehne & Nagel and Straumann Holding lost 1.28 to 2%.

Dufry, Clariant, Swiss Prime Site, Bachem Holding and Flughafen Zurich gained 0.4 to 1%.

A report from Credit Suisse & CFA Society said the Swiss investor sentiment rose by 2.8 points from the prior month to -40 in January of 2022, improving for the second consecutive month.

The index remained in the negative territory for the 11th consecutive period, as high inflation in Europe amid the outlook of more rate hikes continued to pressure sentiment. The assessment of the current economic conditions rose by 12.4 points from December to 26.7.

"While Swiss financial analysts remain pessimistic about economic growth, they are becoming more optimistic about the equity market," The Swiss CFA said. "Looking ahead to 2023, analysts believe equities are the most attractive asset class, with cryptoassets failing to inspire any enthusiasm at all," it added.