Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended modestly higher on Thursday, recovering well after suffering a sharp setback around mid afternoon.

Stocks tumbled after hotter than expected U.S. consumer price inflation data raised concerns the Fed will continue to hike interest rates aggressively in the upcoming months. However, hectic buying at several counters in the final hour lifted the market to a positive close.

Data showing a marginal drop in Switzerland's producer and import price inflation the third successive month in September aided sentiment.

The benchmark SMI, which tumbled to 10,010.78, ended with a gain of 28.58 points or 0.28% at 10,227.90.

Credit Suisse climbed nearly 6.5%. UBS Group gained 3.5%, ABB surged 2.84%, Logitech advanced 2.6%, and Sonova gained 2.36%.

Holcim and Partners Group moved up 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Swiss Life Holding gained 1.36%.

Givaudan drifted down 1.77% and Nestle lost about 1.1%. Novartis and Lonza Group ended modestly lower.

In the Mid Price Index, Dufry, Zur Rose, AMS and Georg Fischer gained 3.3 to 4.3%. Bachem Holding, Adecco, Flughafen Zurich, Temenos Group, Swatch Group and Julius Baer gained 2 to 3%.

VAT Group ended more than 3% down. Swiss Prime Site shed 1.6%, while Lindt & Spruengli, SGS, Galenica Sante and PSP Swiss Property lost 1 to 1.4%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's producer and import price inflation eased for the third successive month in September, rising 5.4% year-on-year, just below the 5.5% increase in August.

Further, this was the weakest rate of increase since January last year, when prices had grown the same 5.4%.

The producer price index climbed 3.8% annually in September, and import prices registered a sharp increase of 8.8%.

On a monthly basis, producer and import prices went up 0.2% in September, reversing a 0.1% slight fall in the prior month.

The producer price index rose 0.1 percent monthly in September, and import prices moved up 0.4 percent.

Data released earlier this month showed that consumer price inflation also eased to 3.3% in September from 3.5% in August.