The Swiss Stock Market Jumped On Strength Of Financials

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market turned in a strong performance Friday, bouncing back from yesterday's decline. Today's upward move was designated primarily as a correction of the losses of the previous day after the European Central Bank announced a massive stimulus program. Financial stocks were among the best performers at the end of the trading week.

The Swiss market initially reacted positively to yesterday's extensive stimulus program from the ECB, but reversed on comments from Mario Draghi which suggested that rates had reached a bottom.

The Swiss Market Index increased 1.33 percent Friday and finished at 7,998.43. The SMI ended the trading week with a slight gain of 0.2 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 1.69 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.37 percent.

Financial stocks shined the brightest Friday, both in Switzerland and across Europe. The ECB's proposal to pay banks for lending to companies drove bank shares higher. Credit Suisse leaped 5.4 percent and UBS advanced 3.3 percent. Julius Baer also finished higher by 3.0 percent.

Insurance stocks also turned in a solid performance. Swiss Re climbed 2.2 percent and Zurich Insurance gained 3.1 percent. Baloise advanced 2.8 percent and Swiss Life added 3.1 percent.

Shares of Transocean increased 4.5 percent, receiving a boost from rising crude oil prices. LafargeHolcim and Geberit both gained 2.9 percent each. Geberit will present annual results next Tuesday. Aryzta rose 0.8 percent. It will report results next week Monday.

The index heavyweights all finished the day in the green. Roche gained 0.6 percent and Novartis increased 1.0 percent. Shares of Nestlé also finished higher by 0.8 percent.

Swatch was one of the few losers of the session, finishing with a loss of 3.1 percent. CEO Nick Hayek expressed optimism on the company's prospects at yesterday's press conference. However, U.S. bank Bernstein has expressed concerns that growth expectations for 2016 are too optimistic.