BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market fluctuated between small gains and losses during Wednesday's session and ended the day with a slight increase. Investors were in a cautious mood ahead of today's policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point, but traders will closely scrutinize the central bank's accompanying statement and forecasts for clues about future rate hikes.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.18 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,540.16. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.46 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.13 percent.
Index heavyweight Roche dropped 1.1 percent and Novartis slid 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, Nestle gained 0.1 percent.
Swatch Group climbed 2.4 percent and rival Richemont added 0.8 percent.
Swiss Re rose 1.7 percent. The company has estimated that natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will cost the insurance industry around $79 billion in 2018.
Swiss Life climbed 1.3 percent and Zurich Insurance rose 0.8 percent.
UBS advanced 1.0 percent, while Credit Suisse and Julius Baer finished higher by 0.3 percent each.
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