BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market got off to a weak start Thursday and dropped further in the first few hours of trade, before staging a recovery. The market managed to turn modestly positive late in the afternoon.
It was a largely positive day for most stocks in Zurich, but the weak performance of index heavyweight Roche prevented a larger gain.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.16 percent Thursday and finished at 8,988.33. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.36 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.24 percent.
Roche dropped 1 percent after new research showed that women taking the company's Herceptin drug for six months were just as likely to be free of cancer four years later as those who used the drug for 12 months.
Novartis also dipped 0.2 percent, while Nestle rose 0.3 percent.
Richemont gained 1.1 percent after it launched Baume, a more affordable watch brand. The company also revealed that it owns 94.9 percent of Yoox Net-a-Porter, which will be delisted from the Milan stock exchange on June 20.
Rival Swatch Group also rose 0.5 percent.
SGS was another notable gainer, with an increase of 1.1 percent. Geberit advanced 0.9 percent and Lafargeholcim added 0.8 percent.
Credit Suisse climbed 0.9 percent, while Julius Baer and UBS rose 0.6 percent each.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX