BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a firm note on Friday, as data showing a drop in Swiss unemployment and expectations of a rate cut announcement from the Federal Reserve aided sentiment.
Hopes that the U.S. government would delay tariffs on Mexican goods and optimism about a U.S.-Mexico trade deal soon too contributed to market's gains.
The benchmark SMI ended up 66.84 points, or 0.69%, at 9,749.13, after scaling a low of 9,686.22 and a high of 9,781.39 in the session.
On Thursday, the SMI ended up 23.67 points, or 0.25%, at 9,682.00.
Sika, up 2.1%, was the top gainer in the SMI. Swiss Re gained 1.8%. Lonza Group, Geberit, ABB, Givaudan, LafargeHolcim, Richemont, Nestle gained 1 to 1.5%.
Swiss Life Holding and Adecco ended nearly 1% up. Zurich Insurance Group, Swatch Group, SGS, Alcon and Swisscom also closed higher.
Shares of Metall Zug Group plunged more than 13%. The company said it saw break even result for earning before interest and taxes in the first half of the financial year. The company said soil remediation due to contamination at a plant site in Switzerland, as well as costs linked to an SAP rollout, dented profits.
On the economic front, Switzerland's unemployment rate was unchanged in May, preliminary data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.4%, unchanged from April. That was in line with economists' expectations.
The non-adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 2.3% from 2.4 percent in April, the agency said.
In May, the number of unemployed totaled 101,370 persons, which was 5,928 persons less than in the previous month. Compared to the year-ago period, unemployment decreased by 8,022 persons.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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