BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market endured a day of choppy trading activity on Friday and finished the session with a very small gain. After a cautious start to the day, the market climbed into the green around midday. However, the release of the weaker than expected U.S. consumer sentiment report drove the market lower heading into the close.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.02 percent Friday and finished at 8,776.17. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 1.2 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.11 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.08 percent.
Vifor Pharma sank 7.7 percent after UBS downgraded its rating on the stock to 'Sell.'
Aryzta weakened by 2.4 percent and Julius Baer surrendered 1.9 percent.
Among the index heavyweights, Novartis declined 0.7 percent and Roche fell 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, Nestlé gained 0.5 percent. The stock benefitted from the better than expected results posted by French cosmetics company L'Oreal, which Nestlé owns a stake in.
Credit Suisse decreased 0.6 percent, but UBS rose 0.2 percent. Positive earnings reports from U.S. banks Citigroup, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan failed boost the Swiss banks.
Sonova climbed 2.1 percent after the company presented a number of new products at an investor event.
Swatch advanced 1.7 percent and Richemont gained 1.4 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX