BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a buoyant note on Monday, tracking positive cues from the U.S. and markets across Europe.
Drop in U.S. Treasury yields, upbeat U.S. and Euro area economic data, news about a $1.9 trillion Covid relief getting the nod from the U.S. House Representatives, and faster rollout of vaccines aided sentiment.
The benchmark SMI, which stayed firm right through the session, ended the day with a gain of 184.37 points or 1.75% at 10,706.59.
LafargeHolcim, Swatch Group and Partners Group gained 3 to 3.5%. ABB, Sika, Geberit, UBS Group and Nestle moved up 2 to 2.6%, while Alcon, Swiss Re, Credit Suisse and Novartis gained nearly 2%.
Richemont and SGS both ended higher by about 1.85%, Swiss Life Holding climbed 1.6%, and Zurich Insurance Group, Givaudan and Swisscom gained 1 to 1.3%.
Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, Dufry rallied 4.5%, extending recent gains. OC Oerlikon Corp gained 4.3% and Tecan Group ended nearly 4% up. Georg Fischer, Vifor Pharma, Kuehne & Nagel, Clariant, Helvetia, Schindler Holding, Straumann Holding, Temenos Group, BB Biotech and Cembras Money Bank also rose sharply.
On the economic front, Switzerland's retail sales declined in January, preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The data showed retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell by 0.5% year-on-year in January.
Sales of food, beverages and tobacco grew 13.9% yearly in January, while those of non-food sector decreased 10.1%.
Sales of other goods declined 18.9% and those of culture and recreation goods in specialized stores fell 15.1%. Sales of other household equipment, textiles, DIY and furniture decreased 7.4%.
On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 5.3% in January.
In nominal terms, retail sales declined 0.9% annually in January and decreased 4.9% from a month ago.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX