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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stocks market ended flat on Wednesday after a choppy ride, as investors reacted to the latest batch of earnings updates, and awaited fresh directional clues from global central banks.
The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 12,414.42 in early trades, dropped to a low of 12,324.92 around mid afternoon and eventually ended the day at 12,360.07, up 0.57 points from the previous close.
Partners Group and Givaudan surged up 2.5% and 2.35%, respectively. UBS Group advanced 1.75%, while Alcon, SGS, ABB, Swiss Life Holding and Nestle gained 1.25 to 1.5%.
Logitech and Geberit gained 1.15% and 1.1%, respectively. Lonza Group edged up marginally, while Credit Suisse ended flat.
Novartis declined more than 3% after its fourth-quarter operating income declined 3 percent despite higher sales. Roche Holding shed about 0.7%, while Holcim and Richemont ended flat.
In the Mid Price Index, shares of lender Julius Baer declined 5.7% despite the bank posting a 55% increase in net profit and raising dividend.
Dufry ended nearly 2% down. BB Biotech, SIG Combibloc, Swatch Group and Flughafen Zurich shed 1.5 to 2%, while Zur Rose and Adecco ended lower by 1.2% and 1%, respectively.
Lindt & Spruengli, Barry Callebaut, Straumann Holding, Ems Chemie Holding and Lindt & Spruengli N gained 2 to 3%. Sonova, AMS, Clariant and Schindler Ps also ended with strong gains.
Meanwhile, quarantine rules and a work-from-home order in Switzerland will end on Thursday (February 3). The government has reportedly planning new measures, but a final decision is expected on February 16.
'Today is a beautiful day,' President Ignazio Cassis is reported to have told the media in Bern earlier in the day. 'We can see light at the end of the tunnel.'
In a statement, the government said that hospitals have not been overwhelmed and occupancy inside intensive care units has decreased.
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