BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After opening flat and then edging higher slowly till about a couple of hours past noon, Swiss stocks climbed up sharply on Friday as buying gathered momentum after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic.
Iran's foreign minister said that in light of the ceasefire that has halted fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, 'passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open,' via a designated route through the vital shipping lane.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the announcement about the Strait of Hormuz but said the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports and vessels will remain in place until a final U.S.-Iran peace deal is negotiated.
The benchmark SMI ended the session with a strong gain of 253.55 points or 1.92% at 13,426.72, the day's high.
Swisscom, down 1.21%, was the only stock from the SMI index to close in negative territory today.
VAT Group climbed 6.1%. Straumann Holding, Sika, Richemont and ABB gained 4%-4.8%. Geberit, Partners Group, Galderma Group, Holcim and Givaudan moved up 3%-3.5%.
Sandoz Group, UBS Group, Lonza Group, Sonova, Roche, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Amrize, Julius Baer and SGS also posted impressive gains.
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