BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Despite spending much of the day's session in negative territory, the Switzerland market ended marginally up on Tuesday thanks to some brisk buying at select counters in the final hour.
The benchmark SMI ended up 18.25 points or 0.16% at 11,248.65. The index touched a low of 11,192.12 and a high of 11,261.42 in the session.
Lonza Group rallied about 2.25%. Alcon gained 1.84%, while Givaudan and Sonova ended higher by 0.83% and 0.62%, respectively.
Novartis and Roche Holding posted modest gains. Zurich Insurance Group and Logitech International also closed on a positive note.
Swisscom ended down 1.1%. UBS Group ended lower by 0.82%, while Partners Group, Sika, ABB, Richemont and Swiss Re also closed weak.
In the Mid Price Index, Sandoz advanced nearly 2%. Temenos Group and Barry Callebaut ended higher by 1.33% and 1.05%, respectively.
Meyer Burger Tech drifted down 4.7%, and Adecco ended down 3.1%. Clariant shed 2.5%, while Julius Baer ended nearly 2% down.
Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) showed Switzerland's unemployment rate increased further in December to the highest level in more than one-and-a-half years.
The unadjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.3% in December from 2.1% in November. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2.1%.
The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, increased to 2.2% from 2.1%.
Data also showed that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 2.2% in December versus 2.1% in November.
The unemployment rate during the whole year 2023 was 2%, which was the lowest since 2001.
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