BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a firm note on Thursday, extending gains to a fourth straight session, thanks to some fairly impressive quarterly earnings reports and a steady trend in other markets across Europe.
The benchmark SMI ended up 83.01 points, or 0.83%, at 10,106.53, slightly off the session's high of 10,115.52.
On Wednesday, the index ended up 6.17 points, or 0.06%, at 10,023.52.
ABB ended stronger by 3.3%, extending gains from the previous session. Adecco, Nestle and SGS gained around 1.5% each. Swiss Re and Novartis both gained 1.1%.
Geberit, Givaudan, UBS Group and LafargeHolcim gained 0.8 to 1%. Roche Holding and Swiss Life Holding ended modestly higher.
Swisscom, Swatch Group and Richemont declined 0.7 to 1%.
In the midcap section, VAT Group shares soared 12.5% after the company said sales in the current quarter are seen returning to year-on-year growth. The company, however, expects net income for 2019 to fall below the previous year.
Schindler Holding gained about 2% after reporting a 6.1% surge in third-quarter net profit.
Logitech International gained 3.6% and Temenos Group ended nearly 3% up, while AMS, Georg Fischer, Partners Group, Vifor Pharma and Swiss Prime Site gained 1 to 2%.
Among the other major markets in Europe, The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.93%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.58% and 0.55%, respectively. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended up 0.59%.
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