BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a bright note on Thursday, holding firm right through the session after a positive start, amid optimism about a partial U.S. stimulus.
Data showing a marginal drop in Swiss jobless rate also aided sentiment.
The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 82.36 points or 0.81% at 10,270.24, after scaling a low of 10,187.88 and a high of 10,307.89 intraday.
The index ended lower by 45.28 points or 0.44% at 10,187.88, extending weakness from a session earlier.
Alcon surged up 4.3%. Swiss Re gained about 2.2%, while LafargeHolcim, Novartis, Swiss Life Holding and Swisscom moved up 1 to 1.8%.
ABB ended higher by about 0.7%. The company said its high-precision robots are used to accelerate Covid-19 testing in Singapore.
Credit Suisse advanced nearly 0.5%, while UBS Group ended flat.
Givaudan shares ended lower by about 1%. The flavor and fragrance maker said its nine-month sales totaled 4.79 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 3.7% on a like-for-like basis and 2.7% in Swiss francs.
In the Midcap index, Dufry climbed more than 6.5%, extending recent gains. Temenos Group ended nearly 4% up. Julius Baer, Vifor Pharma and Straumann Holding gained 2 to 2.35%.
Sonova, Swiss Prime Site, PSP Swiss Property, AMS and Helvetia also ended notably higher, while Schindler Holding and Schindler Ps lost 2.2% and 1.7%, respectively. BB Biotech shed nearly 1%.
On the economic front, Switzerland's jobless rate dropped marginally in September, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed.
The jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.3% in September from 3.4% in August. Economists had expected a rate of 3.4%.
On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate slid to 3.2% in September from 3.3% in the previous month. Economists had forecast the rate to remain at 3.3%.
The number of registered unemployed decreased by 2,551 from the previous month to 148,560 in September. The unemployment rate among youth aged between 15 and 24 declined to 3.6% from 3.9% in August, the data showed.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX