The Swiss Stock Market Jumped On Hopes For Clinton Victory

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first day of the new trading week with a strong gain. The market snapped a 6-session losing streak after it was announced over the weekend that the FBI has once again cleared U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of criminal charges related to her use of a private email server while Secretary of State.

The market was under pressure last week, as news of the FBI investigation allowed Clinton's opponent Donald Trump to narrow her lead over him in the presidential race. Traders are now feeling more confident regarding a Clinton victory in Tuesday's upcoming election.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.87 percent Monday and finished at 7,735.22. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 2.09 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 1.77 percent.

LafargeHolcim was the top performing stock of the day, with a gain of 4.5 percent. The cement group continued to strong upward move from the end of the previous trading week. A number of banks have also raised their ratings and estimates on the stock.

Bank stocks were strong across Europe at the start of the new trading week. UBS jumped 4.2 percent, Credit Suisse advanced 3.9 percent and Julius Baer added 3.2 percent. HSBC added UBS to its "Europe Super Ten" list.

Swiss Life finished the day higher by 3.0 percent and Zurich Insurance rose 2.5 percent.

Watch and jewelry maker Richemont climbed 2.3 percent Monday. The company reported results for the first half of the year and also announced management changes last Friday. Shares of Swatch also closed up by 1.8 percent.

ABB gained 2.3 percent and Sika rose 2.1 percent. Index heavyweight Roche also finished up by 2.0 percent. Roche announced the launch of a Phase III trial of Tecentriq. Novartis also advanced 1.7 percent.

The third index heavyweight, Nestlé, also added 0.9 percent. Aryzta, Givaudan and Kuehne + Nagel all increased by 0.9 percent each. Clariant advanced 0.8 percent and Swisscom rose 0.4 percent.