The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Gain After Late Jump

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market dropped in early trade Wednesday and remained in negative territory for much of the session. A late recovery brought the market into the green, allowing it to finish with a modest increase. The below-average performance of the index heavyweights caused the market to underperform the rest of the Europe.

Market moving corporate and economic data was in short supply Wednesday. Investors were also in a cautious mood ahead of the release of the U.S. Beige Book, which will occur after the close in Europe, and ahead of Thursday's European Central Bank meeting.

The Swiss Market Index increased 0.20 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,320.99. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.36 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.19 percent.

The bank stocks were among the best performers Wednesday. Credit Suisse climbed 1.6 percent and Julius Baer advanced 1.4 percent. Shares of UBS also finished higher by 0.1 percent.

Cyclical stocks were also among the gainers. LafargeHolcim increased 1.6 percent, Givaudan gained 0.9 percent Sika added 0.7 percent. Swatch climbed 0.8 percent and Richemont rose 0.3 percent despite a downgrade by Barclays.

Hearing aid manufacturer Sonova was among the weakest performers, with a loss of 0.7 percent. Index heavyweight Roche fell 0.3 percent, while Novartis rose 0.3 percent. Shares of Nestle finished the session unchanged.