Swiss Markets Halt Losing Streak On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 240 points or 2.1 percent.

The SMI opened modestly higher on and saw peaks and valleys throughout the session but always remained in positive territory.

The gains were in line with the rest of Europe as bourses in Germany and France posted solid gains, while the market in London were closed for its Spring Bank holiday.

The European markets continue to balance slowing economic growth and record high inflation against the outlook for interest rates ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting next week.

Declining oil prices also boosted sentiment. Both Brent and WTI crude futures fell over 2 percent after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia was prepared to pump more oil to compensate for any Russian output loss because of the Western sanctions imposed on it.

On Thursday, the SMI picked up 56.08 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 11,550.20 after trading between 11,501.32 and 11,571.42.

Among the actives, Sika surged 3.82 percent, while Swatch Group spiked 2.69 percent, Compagnie Financiere Richemont jumped 2.68 percent, Novartis shed 0.67 percent, Swisscom lost 0.28 percent, UBS Group fell 0.17 percent, Credit Suisse eased 0.12 percent, Swiss Life rose 0.07 percent and Zurich Insurance was unchanged.

In economic news, Switzerland's consumer price inflation rose to the highest level since September 2008, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Thursday.

Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent year-on-year in May, following a 2.5 percent increase April. Economists had expected a 2.6 percent inflation. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in May, following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month.