BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended notably higher on Wednesday, in line with the trend seen across Europe, amid optimism about stimulus and progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
Investors also looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Thursday.
The benchmark SMI ended up 78.40 points or 0.77% at 10,309.65, after scaling a low of 10,197.50 and a high of 10,321.03 in the session.
Sika gained about 2.15%. Givaudan and Geberit moved up 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively, while Adecco, Credit Suisse, Lonza Group and Roche Holding ended higher by 1 to 1.2%.
SGS, ABB, UBS Group, Swiss Life Holding, Nestle, LafargeHolcim and Richemont also ended on a firm note.
Among midcap stocks, Dorma Kaba Holding and Flughafen Zurich gained 4.7% and 3.5%, respectively. Ems Chemie Holding gained 2.5% and Schindler Holding surged up 2%. Schindler Ps, Kuehne & Nagel, AMS, OC Oerlikon Corp, Georg Fischer, Baloise Holding and Julius Baer also ended with strong gains.
Among the other major markets in Europe, German and France closed notably higher, with their benchmarks DAX and CAC 40 climbing 0.98% and 0.8%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.14% and the pan European Stoxx 600 moved up 0.91%.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX