BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After a positive start, the Switzerland market suffered a mild setback and slipped slightly below the flat line Thursday morning, but recovered swiftly and stayed firm thereafter to finally end the day's session modestly higher.
The benchmark SMI closed up by 50.17 points or 0.42% at 12,049.13.
VAT Group climbed nearly 9.5%. Sonova, Kuehne + Nagel, Richemont, Partners Group and ABB gained 1.1 to 1.7%.
Lindt & Spruengli, Schindler Ps, Holcim, Zurich Insurance, Sika, Swiss Re, Nestle and UBS Group posted moderate gains.
SIG Group shares tumbled nearly 25% after the packaging group issued a profit warning for 2025 and suspended its cash dividend
Amrize closed almost 4% down. Adecco ended lower by 2.3%, while Swisscom, Swatch Group, Sandoz Group, SGS and Julius Baer lost 1 to 1.4%.
In economic news, Switzerland's foreign trade surplus decreased in August as exports fell amid an increase in imports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed.
The trade surplus dropped to CHF 3.9 billion in August from CHF 4.2 billion in July.
In nominal terms, exports dropped 1% monthly in August, while imports rose by 0.4%. In real terms, both exports and imports rebounded by 2.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Shipments of watches and jewelry items plunged 7.5% over the month, and those of clocks declined by 8.6%.
According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, watch exports fell sharply by 16.5% year-on-year in August. Watches made from precious metals logged the worst exports, which slumped by 17.3%.
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