Swiss Market Turns Positive In Closing Minutes, Ends Slightly Up
(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market closed marginally up on Monday thanks to a few stocks finding some good support in the closing hour of the session.
The sentiment was weak for much of the day's session as Moody's downgraded the United States' sovereign credit rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa amid concerns over its growing debt and interest costs.
Moody's said the downgrade reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.
News about the UK and the European Union agreeing to strengthen their cooperation across several key areas post-Brexit, as well as their agreements related to security and defense, fisheries, trade, energy and travel, supported the market.
The benchmark SMI settled with a gain of 21.68 points or 0.18% at 12,356.77, the day's high. The index touched a low of 12,263.18 in the session.
Lindt & Spruengli, the top gainer in the SMI index, climbed 3.54%. Swisscom and Schindler Ps gained 1.27% and 1.13%, respectively. Swiss Life Holding and UBS Group both advanced nearly 1%.
Nestle ended 0.89% up. SGS, Givaudan, Zurich Insurance, SIG Group, Geberit, Julius Baer and Swatch Group advanced 0.4 to 0.7%.
Holcim drifted down 2.56%. Alcon closed down 1.07%, and Straumann Holding ended 0.93% down. Partners Group, Swiss Re and Logitech International also closed weak.
Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher
European Stocks Rise On Oil Decline, Middle East Peace Hopes
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Drops Less Than Previously Estimated In September
Bay Street Poised For Positive Open On Metal Gains
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Unchanged In August
FTSE 100 Edges Higher On Mining, Banking Strength
Canadian Dollar Falls As Crude Oil Prices Slide
