BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After a weak start and a subsequent recovery Thursday morning, the Switzerland stock market stayed flat for the next four hours or so before edging higher to finally end the session on a positive note.
Bargain hunting at a few top counters after previous session's sharp plunge contributed a bit to market's positive close.
The mood was cautious right through the session amid concerns about the rapid spread of coronavirus disease in the U.S. and several other parts across the world. The latest report from the IMF that forecasts a gloomy outlook for the global economy also weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 67.84 points or 0.68% at 10,089.83, after scaling a low of 9,925.66 and a high of 10,089.83 intraday.
On Wednesday, the SMI ended down 224.57 points or 2.19% at 10,021.99, the day's low.
UBS Group gained about 2.5%. Credit Suisse shares moved up 1.3%.
Roche Holding, Swiss Life Holding and Givaudan ended higher by 1 to 1.2%. Lonza Group and Zurich Insurance Group both ended nearly 1% up, while Sika and SGS gained 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
On the other hand, Alcon declined 1.1%. Richemont and Geberit eased 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
In the midcap section, Sunrise Communications gained 2.3%. Partners Group, BB Biotech and Sonova moved up 1 to 1.4%, while Vifor Pharma gained nearly 1%.
AMS plunged more than 16%. Dufry ended lower by 3.9% and OC Oerlikon Corp weakened by 3.5% and Dorma Kaba Holding lost 3%. Kuehne & Nagel ended down 2.2%, while PSP Swiss Property lost nearly 2%.
Among the other major indices in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.38%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.69% and France's CAC 40 jumped 0.97%. The pan European Stoxx 600 moved up 0.72%.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX