Swiss Market Ends Roughly Flat

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended flat on Tuesday after swinging between gains and losses in somewhat lackluster trade, as investors largely stayed cautious, looking for direction.

The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 4.65 points or 0.04% at 11,587.00, after moving in a narrow band between 11,550.02 and 11,617.32.

UBS Group gained 1.87% and Credit Suisse climbed nearly 1.5%. Lonza Group gained 1.2%. Geberit, Swiss Life Holding, ABB, Alcon and Partners Group ended higher by 0.6 to 1%.

Shares of re-insurer Swiss Re moved up 0.2%. The company announced its estimated preliminary claims burden from Hurricane Ida of approximately $750 million.

Roche Holding, Holcim, Richemont and Novartis ended lower by 0.4 to 0.9%. SGS declined by about 0.3%. Swisscom edged down marginally.

In the Mid Price Index, VAT Group and Zur Rose climbed 5.86% and 5.72%, respectively. Lindt & Spruengli, Tecan Group, Straumann Holding, Julius Baer, Kuehne & Nagel, SIG Combibloc and Temenos Group gained 1 to 1.8%.

Dufry and Flughafen Zurich both ended lower by about 1.7%. Vifor Pharma, Cembra Money Bank and PSP Swiss Property shed 0.5 to 0.8%.

On the virus front, the coronavirus situation continues to improve but this is "a brief respite", said Virginie Masserey, head of the infectious diseases section at the Federal Office of Public Health, today. "We need to make the most of this period to boost our immunity."

The vaccination rate is too slow to exit the crisis quickly, according to health officials.

The seven-day average of new daily infections dropped down to 1,082 today, a 19% drop compared with the previous week. Most new infections have been recorded among those aged 10-19, according to officials.