The Swiss Stock Market Climbed On Bank Strength

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in the green, following Thursday's pullback. Bank stocks, which have been under intense pressure of late, lead the way higher at the end of the trading week. Investor sentiment received a boost from an easing of "Brexit" concerns.

Britain's politicians suspended the Brexit referendum campaign for a second day, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox, a strong advocate for voting to stay in next week's referendum. The momentum that the "Leave" advocates had been building appears to have been halted.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.03 percent Friday and finished at 7,713.61. However, the SMI finished the trading week with an overall loss of 2.6 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 1.34 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index rose 1.04 percent.

Credit Suisse jumped 4.5 percent and UBS added 3.8 percent. Julius Baer also finished higher by 2.2 percent.

The insurance stocks also turned in a solid performance Friday. Swiss Life gained 2.2 percent and Zurich Insurance rose 1.9 percent. Swiss Re increased 1.5 percent and Baloise advanced 1.1 percent. Zurich Insurance announced the sale of subsidiaries in Morocco and Taiwan.

Cyclicals were also among the gainers at the end of the trading week. Dufry surged 4.2 percent and LafargeHolcim added 1.9 percent. Swatch increased 1.8 percent and Richemont rose 1.4 percent. Sika jumped 2.9 percent, Adecco climbed 1.3 percent and ABB added 1.1 percent.

Pharma heavyweights Roche and Novartis both gained 0.6 percent each. Meanwhile, shares of Nestle decreased 0.1 percent.