BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a slight increase. The positive performance of the pharma heavyweights helped the market to avoid a loss. Traders were in a cautious mood at the end of the week, ahead of the G20 summit this weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a highly anticipated meeting at the summit to discuss the trade dispute between the two nations. Trump and Xi are due to hold a dinner meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.25 percent Friday and finished at 9,037.76. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.3 percent and the Swiss Performance Index slid 0.01 percent.
Among the index heavyweights, Roche climbed 1.9 percent and Novartis rose 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, shares of Nestle slid 0.1 percent.
Lonza advanced 1.2 percent and Swisscom added 0.8 percent.
The luxury goods companies struggled ahead of the G20 summit. Swatch Group and its rival Richemont declined 1.2 percent each.
Julius Baer dropped 1.7 percent, Credit Suisse decreased 1.2 percent and UBS fell 1.1 percent.
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