BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a bright note on Monday, in line with the firm trend seen across Europe and Asia.
Better than expected manufacturing sector data from the euro area, China and the U.S. helped lift sentiment despite persisting worries about rising coronavirus cases and tighter lockdown restrictions in several countries.
The benchmark SMI ended stronger by 214.53 points or 2.13% at 9,791.68, slightly off the session's high of 9,802.57. The index was briefly down in negative territory after opening slightly higher.
LafargeHolcim and Partners Group surged up 4.8% and 4.7%, respectively. Swiss Re, Credit Suisse, Swiss Life Holding, UBS Group and ABB ended stronger by 3 to 3.6%.
Roche Holding shares moved up 2.85% after the drugmaker reported a 1% rise in third-quarter sales. The company said pharmaceuticals sales will probably recover in the fourth quarter.
Novartis and Zurich Insurance Group gained 2.1% and 1.9%, respectively, while Nestle gained 1.25% and Lonza Group advanced 1.05%.
In the midcap section, Dufry moved up 4.6% and OC Oerlikon Corp rallied 4.3%. Julius Baer, Baloise Holding, SIG Combibloc, Cembra Money Bank, Flughafen Zurich, Georg Fischer, Vifor Pharma, Adecco and Helvetia gained 2 to 3%.
In Swiss economic news, the procure.ch Manufacturing PMI declined to 52.3 in October 2020 from 53.1 in the previous month. Still, the reading pointed to the third consecutive expansion in the factory sector, as both output and new orders continued to rise albeit at a softer pace.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
