BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a very small gain. Trading activity was rather quiet and directionless at the end of the week. Investors were reluctant to make any big moves heading into the weekend.
Hurricane Irma, a category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall in Florida early Sunday. Meanwhile, North Korea is celebrating a holiday on Saturday, which could be a key date for another intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.06 percent Friday and finished at 8,912.05. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall loss of 0.3 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.18 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.09 percent.
Bakery group Aryzta climbed 1.8 percent Friday, regaining some of the ground it lost yesterday. The company appointed Frederic Pflanz as its new Chief Financial Officer on Thursday.
Vifor rose 1.7 percent, adding to its gains from the past few sessions. LafargeHolcim also advanced 0.7 percent.
Credit Suisse gained 0.5 percent and Julius Baer increased 0.3 percent, while UBS dipped 0.1 percent. Bâloise climbed 1.0 percent, while Swiss Re increased by 0.5 percent.
Zurich Insurance slid 0.1 percent. Citigroup upgraded its rating on the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'
The index heavyweights finished with mixed results. Novartis rose 0.1 percent and Roche gained 0.3 percent. Nestlé finished lower by 0.3 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX