BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market faltered after a positive start Wednesday morning, and after swinging between gains and losses till about an hour past noon, turned a bit steady and finally ended the day slightly above the flat line.
Investors, digesting earnings announcements, were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.
The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 11.38 points or 0.1% at 11,103.46, after moving in a narrow range between 11,070.72 and 11,126.69.
Swatch Group moved up 2.2%, Credit Suisse advanced by about 2% and UBS Group gained 1.88%. Swiss Life Holding ended 1.3% up. Swiss Re, LafargeHolcim, Zurich Insurance Group, ABB and Richemont closed modestly higher.
Roche Holding, Givaudan, Geberit and Swisscom ended lower by 0.3 to 1%.
In the Mid Price Index, Dufry gained 3.6% and AMS advanced 1.4%. Cembra Money Bank gained 1%, while Helvetia, Julius Baer and SIG Combibloc closed higher by about 0.6%.
Barry Callebaut tumbled 5.8%, Schindler Ps shed 3.4% and Schindler Holding declined 3.1%. Lindt & Spruengli, Vifor Pharma and Logitech also ended notably lower.
A report from Credit Suisse & CFA Society Switzerland said the Swiss investor sentiment index rose by 1.6 points from the previous month to an all-time high of 68.3 in April, pointing to a strong recovery from the Covid-induced recession. The survey showed that the Swiss economy is expected bounce back over the next six months, boosted by an improvement in export prospects.
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