The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Slight Gain

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session with a modest increase. The market got off to a weak start, but climbed on the positive Eurozone manufacturing data. The weak performance of the U.S. markets, due to the disappointing U.S. private sector employment and ISM manufacturing reports, translated into selling pressure in the afternoon.

Eurozone manufacturing sector expanded more than initially estimated as growth accelerated in Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, final data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The Purchasing Mangers' Index rose to a 10-month high of 52.2 in March from 51 in February.

The Swiss Market Index rose by 0.09 percent Wednesday and finished at 9,137.26. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.19 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.07 percent.

Financial stocks were among the best performing stocks Wednesday. Credit Suisse climbed by 1.4 percent and UBS gained 0.8 percent. Morgan Stanley increased its price targets on both stocks. Julius Baer finished higher by 0.5 percent and Swiss Life increased by 1.0 percent.

Cyclical stocks were also among the gainers. Syngenta advanced by 1.0 percent and Clariant added 1.3 percent. Shares of SGS also climbed by 0.8 percent.

Novartis rose by 0.3 percent, while Roche fell by 0.3 percent. Barclays reiterated its "Equal weight" rating on Novartis and its "Overweight" rating on Roche. Shares of Nestle fell by 0.4 percent.

Aryzta declined by 2.9 percent. The stock dropped by 8.2 percent yesterday, after it announced that it plans to invest the proceeds from the sale of Origin in the French frozen food group Picard.

Basilea Pharmaceutica gained 0.9 percent. The company reported a license agreement for novel panRAF kinase inhibitors with a consortium of organizations.