The Swiss Stock Market Extended Its Winning Streak To 8 Weeks

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in positive territory and finished the week with another gain. This marks the eighth consecutive week of gains for the Swiss market. The SMI traded in a narrow 30 point range throughout Friday's session.

The ECB began making bond purchases at the start of the trading week, which translated into an increased investor appetite for stocks. Weakness in the Euro and concerns over the timing of the impending interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve dominated the headlines this week. Another round of weak U.S. economic data at the end of the week somewhat limited the market's gains.

The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.40 percent Friday and finished at 9,156.02. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 0.8 percent. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.56 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.46 percent.

Shares of UBS increased by 1.1 percent. The company has agreed to pay $135 million to settle a U.S. antitrust lawsuit. UBS also revised down its net profit for 2014 to 3.466 billion francs, from 3.571 billion francs reported in February.

Swatch Group advanced by 1.5 percent Friday, after climbing by over 2 percent yesterday. Swatch outlined its smart watch plans at its annual media conference Thursday and expressed optimism for the full year. However, competitor Richemont dropped by 1.1 percent Friday.

Nestle rose by 0.4 percent at the end of the trading week and Novartis added 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, fellow index heavyweight Roche finished with a loss of 0.1 percent.

Actelion increased by 2.0 percent and Sika gained 1.6 percent. Givaudan rose by 1.4 percent and SGS added 1.3 percent. Baloise and Zurich both climbed by 0.9 percent and Swiss Life by 0.8 percent.

Shares of Transocean dropped by 4.4 percent on a weak day for energy stocks. Falling crude oil prices were responsible for the decline.