The Swiss Stock Market Began The New Trading Week With A Gain

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market finished with a modest gain at the start of the new trading week. There was little market driving news on Monday, but the Swiss market benefitted from the strong performance of shares of Roche and the positive performance of the U.S. stock markets.

Investor sentiment was impacted by the weaker than expected Japanese GDP report. Japan's gross domestic product added just 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013. The headline figure missed forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent. However, the pace of contraction in Greece's gross domestic product slowed in the second quarter.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.29 percent Monday and finished at 8,000.60. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.17 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.31 percent.

Roche was the top gainer among the index heavyweights, with an increase of 1.5 percent. CEO Severin Schwan has indicated that a possible takeover of Alexion is too expensive now. Novartis also finished with a gain of 0.2 percent, but Nestle dipped by 0.1 percent.

Shares of Schindler advanced by 2.0 percent Monday. The company is expected to report financial results on Tuesday. Luxury goods companies Swatch and Richemont were also among the gainers, with increased of 1.0 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.