Swiss Stocks Rise, Led By Banks

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks rose to start the third quarter Tuesday, edging closer to record highs from earlier in the year. Gains were driven by strong manufacturing data from China.

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) gained 0.62 percent to 8,607.91 points, as big banks UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer all rallied on news of a settlement between French bank BNP Paribas and U.S. regulators.

Bravofly dropped 9 percent after warning of increased competition in its core markets.

Clariant rose 0.35 percent after saying it closed the sale of its Water Treatment business in Africa to AECI for 34 million Swiss francs ($38.31 million).

Meyer Burger has been awarded a contract by Hanplast and FreeVolt. Shares dropped 2.5 percent.

PubliGroupe closed the sale of its media sales division, Publicitas, to German company Aurelius.