The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Modest Increase After Early Surge

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week with a modest gain. The market got off to a very strong start Monday, with an early surge carrying it to a new high for the year, at 9,526 points. The market nearly gave back all of its early gains in the afternoon, before staging a modest recovery.

The mood among investors remained positive as concerns over Greece continued to subside. Banks in Greece partially reopened today after a three-week closure. With concerns over Greece easing, investors are beginning to shift their focus to the anticipated increase in U.S. interest rates.

The Swiss Market Index climbed by 0.39 percent Monday and finished at 9,492.62. The Swiss Leader Index increased by 0.13 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.37 percent.

Pharma stocks were among the best performers Monday. Novartis climbed by 0.9 percent and Roche advanced by 0.6 percent. Novartis is expected to report its half year results on Tuesday and Roche is expected to report on Thursday. Baader Helvea upgraded its rating on shares of Roche to "Buy" from "Hold." Meanwhile, shares of Actelion fell by 0.4 percent. The company is also due to report financial results tomorrow.

Cyclical stocks also turned in a positive performance at the start of the new trading week. Geberit rose by 0.9 percent and Adecco gained 0.8 percent. Schindler increased by 0.7 percent, ABB added 0.6 percent and Richemont closed up by 0.5 percent.

Givaudan climbed by 0.4 percent. The stock had jumped by nearly 4 percent on Friday, after its strong earnings report. JP Morgan increased its price target on the flavor and fragrance manufacturer and confirmed its "Overweight" rating.

Julius Baer fell by 1.4 percent, after the private banking group reported a lower profit for the first half of the year. UBS and Credit Suisse both decreased by 0.2 percent.

Transocean was the top decliner of the day, with a decrease of 2.8 percent. Weakness in oil prices continued to weigh on the stock.