BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After opening on a negative note, the Switzerland market quickly emerged into positive territory Thursday morning and stayed higher till the end of the day's session to close with modest gains.
The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 11,088.62 in early trades, ended the day with a gain of 37.32 points or 0.33% at 11,185.88.
Richemont soared nearly 10.5% as demand for the company's jewellery brands, including Cartier and Van Cleef, gave the group a boost over the Christmas period against a challenging backdrop for the luxury sector.
Sales increased 8% year-on-year at constant exchange rates for the three months ending December 31, 2023, reaching €5.6 billion ($6.1 billion) and beating analyst expectations, the company said.
Partners Group gained about 1.75%, while ABB and Lonza Group both advanced nearly 1.5%. UBS Group, Logitech International, Holcim and Alcon posted moderate gains.
Kuehne & Nagel, Zurich Insurance Group, Geberit, Swiss Re, Sika, Nestle, Roche Holding and Swisscom ended down 0.5 to 1.1%.
In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech jumped nearly 10%, rebounding from recent losses. Temenos Group rallied 4.7%, and VAT Group climbed about 2.6%.
Straumann Holding, Belimo Holding, Georg Fischer and Julius Baer ended higher by 1.6 to 2%. Tecan Group, Swatch Group, Helvetia and SIG Combibloc also ended notably higher.
Lindt & Spruengli and BKW dropped 2.6% and 2.3%, respectively. Swiss Prime Site ended nearly 1% down, and Sandoz settled lower by about 0.7%.
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