BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session with a solid gain. Investors reacted positively to comments from Chinese Xi Jinping regarding the trade dispute between China and the U.S.
Xi promised to lower import tariffs on products including cars and take other steps to further open the world's second-largest economy.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.79 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,755.57. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.68 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.81 percent.
The luxury goods companies were among the strongest gainers after strong quarterly figures were reported by French competitor LVMH. Richemont climbed 2.3 percent and Swatch added 1.6 percent.
Vifor Pharma advanced 2.1 percent and Logitech gained 1.4 percent. Shares of ABB also finished higher by 1.2 percent.
Index heavyweight Novartis rose 1.4 percent. The stock finished higher yesterday after it announced the acquisition of U.S. company Avexis. Nestlé increased 0.9 percent and Roche added 0.2 percent.
Credit Suisse advanced 1.2 percent and UBS gained 0.8 percent. Julius Baer also closed higher by 0.5 percent.
Dufry weakened by 1.2 percent, extending yesterday's losses. LafargeHolcim and Kuehne + Nagel surrendered 0.2 percent each.
Givaudan tumbled 2.4 percent. The fragrance and flavor maker posted weaker-than-expected sales for the first quarter.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX