BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market managed to post a modest gain on Wednesday, ahead of tomorrow's holiday. The market began the session in negative territory, due to concerns about a possible default by Greece and of the possibility of the country's exit from the euro zone.
Trading sentiment brightened in the afternoon and the market managed to turn positive. The positive open of the U.S. stock markets and the better than expected U.S. housing and industrial production results helped to provide some support.
The Swiss Market Index gained 0.13 percent Wednesday and finished at 5,872.73. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.38 percent and the Swiss Performance Index increased by 0.17 percent.
Shares of luxury goods company Richemont surged by 8.1 percent Wednesday. The company reported an increase in both earnings and sales for the full year. Fellow luxury good company, Swatch, also climbed by 2.7 percent.
The defensive heavyweights of the index also finished to the downside Wednesday. Nestle declined by 0.6 percent, while Novartis and Roche lost 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
