Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended modestly higher on Friday after staying positive throughout the day's session thanks to sustained buying at several counters.

The benchmark SMI closed up by 26.16 points or 0.18% at 14,544.91, after moving between 14,542.45 and 14,624.87.

Sandoz Group climbed 5.2%. Lindt & Spruengli, Galderma Group and Alcon gained 1.6%-1.8%. Sika, Partners Group and Julius Baer ended up by 1.3%-1.6%.

Lonza Group, Swiss Re and UBS Group moved up nearly 1%. Sonova, Zurich Insurance Group, Roche, Straumann Holding and Novartis also ended higher.

Amrize tanked nearly 9%. Holcim and Swisscom shed 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. ABB, Givaudan and Richemont closed modestly lower.

In economic news, consumers in Switzerland remained slightly more pessimistic in July, monthly survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed.

The consumer sentiment index dropped to -35.0 in July from -33.0 in the corresponding month last year. Meanwhile, the index improved somewhat from -36 in June. The expected score was -34.0.