The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Modest Increase

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the final trading session of July with a modest gain. The market pulled back slightly in the afternoon, following the release of some weaker than expected U.S. economic data. However, the market advanced further in late trade and finished at its intraday high.

Investors around the globe continue to sift through a large number of corporate financial reports. Uncertainty regarding the start of U.S. interest rate hikes and the continued turmoil in the Chinese stock market also remain factors.

The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.32 percent Friday and finished at 9,428.17. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 1.1 percent and rose by 7.4 percent for the month. The Swiss Leader Index gained 0.38 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.35 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished with modest gains Friday. Novartis rose by 0.4 percent. Discussions between executives from Novartis /Alcon and EP Global Communications are expected to begin as soon as Monday. The talks will focus on electronic contact lens technologies.

Roche climbed by 0.1 percent, after the European Commission granted approval to its breast cancer drug Perjeta.

Nestlé gained 0.4 percent. L'Oreal reported weaker than expected quarterly results on Thursday. Nestle owns a 23 percent stake in the company.

Geberit was the top gainer of the session, rising by 1.8 percent. Clariant advanced by 1.7 percent. JPMorgan increased its price target on the stock and maintained its "Overweight" rating.

Swatch increased by 1.5 percent and Aryzta added 1.4 percent. Galenica and Richemont both climbed by 1.3 percent.

Credit Suisse and Julius Baer both fell by 0.2 percent each, while UBS rose by 0.1 percent.

Transocean was the biggest downside mover at the end of the week, falling by 2.7 percent. Declining oil prices were responsible for the pull back.