Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note Again

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a bright note on Thursday, rallying sharply for a second successive day, as concerns about inflation faded a bit after the Fed minutes said the policymakers reiterated a tough stance to rein in soaring consumer prices.

Data showing a drop in Swiss unemployment rate aided sentiment.

The benchmark SMI, which climbed to a high of 10,988.42 about a couple of hours past noon, ended the session with a gain of 100.38 points or 0.93% at 10,940.98.

Swiss Life Holding, ABB and Swiss Re climbed 3.75%, 3.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Sika surged 2.7%, while Logitech, Credit Suisse and UBS Group gained 2 to 2.25%.

Holcim, Swisscom, Zurich Insurance Group and Partners Group gained 1.6 to 1.7%, while Novartis, SGS, Lonza Group, Geberit and Richemont advanced 0.8 to 1.1%.

In the Swiss Mid Price Index, AMS rallied 4.3%. Georg Fischer, Baloise Holding, Clariant, Helvetia, Tecan Group and Adecco gained 2.5 to 3.7%.

Bachem Holding gained nearly 2.5%. SIG Combibloc, Julius Baer, Lindt & Spruengli, VAT Group, Kuehne & Nagel, Schindler Ps, Flughafen Zurich, Schindler Holding and BB Biotech moved up 1.7 to 2.4%.

Zur Rose drifted down more than 4%. Galenica Sante ended 2.4% down, while Barry Callebaut and Cembera Money Bank posted modest losses.

Data released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said Switzerland's unemployment rate declined further in June, in line with expectations.

The unadjusted unemployment rate dropped to 2% in June from 2.1% in the previous month, the data showed. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2.9%.

The number of registered unemployed decreased by 5,493 persons to 92,511 in June from 98,004 in the prior month.

The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, decreased to 1.7% in June from 1.8% in May.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate held steady at 2.2% in June, which was also in line with economists' forecast.