(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market shrugged off a weak start and kept edging higher as the session progressed on Wednesday to eventually close on a firm note.
The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 79.81 points or 0.73% at 11,012.87, slightly off the day's high of 11,020.44. The index dropped to a low of 10,895.27 in the first hour.
Richemont rallied more than 3.5%, Alcon gained about 2.25% and Lonza Group surged nearly 2%.
Partners Group gained about 1.5%, while Givaudan, Nestle, Zurich Insurance Group, Novartis and ABB advanced 0.7 to 1.2%.
Holcim ended nearly 2% down. Geberit declined 1.6%, while Swiss Life Holding shed about 0.7%.
Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, BB Biotech and Tecan Group surged 3.6% and 3.3%, respectively.
Swatch Group climbed 2.36%, while VAT Group, SIG Combibloc, Lindt & Spruengli, Bachem Holding, Temenos Group, Galenica Sante and Straumann Holding gained 1.2 to 1.4%.
