The Swiss Stock Market Rebounded From Yesterday's Pull Back

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market bounced back from Wednesday's pull back and ended Thursday's session with a significant gain. The market got off to a positive start and ended the day just below its intraday high. The strong performance of the U.S. equity markets provided a boost in the afternoon.

Early optimism was sparked by the strong rally in the Chinese stock market. China's Shanghai Composite index soared 5.3 percent, aided by strong buying in the final 45 minutes of trade, ending the benchmark index's five-day rout.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 3.09 percent Thursday and finished at 8,812.58. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 2.72 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 2.90 percent.

Syngenta was among the biggest gainers Thursday, with an increase of 4.9 percent. However, the stock only made a partial recovery following the 18 percent drop of the prior session. Yesterday's dropped was sparked by the news that U.S. rival Monsanto will no longer pursue a takeover of the company.

Transocean rose by 4.8 percent Thursday, as crude oil prices climbed higher. The stock turned in a weak performance yesterday, after management proposed the cancellation of its next two dividend payments.

The index heavyweights all finished solidly in positive territory. Novartis increased by 4.1 percent and Roche added 3.9 percent. Shares of Nestle also finished higher by 2.3 percent.

Givaudan gained 0.6 percent, after the supplier of fragrances announced its financial ambitions and roadmap for the next five years.

Baloise climbed by 2.1 percent, after it reported better than expected results for the first half of the year. However, analysts were disappointed by the performance of its life insurance business.