BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland market ended on a firm note on Wednesday after holding well above the flat line right through the day's trading thanks to sustained buying at several counters amid optimism about an interest rate cut by the Swiss Central Bank next month.
The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 51.98 points or 0.42% at 12,348.70. The index touched a high of 12,394.45 about an hour past noon.
Givaudan climbed about 3.75%. Swiss Re and Schindler Ps gained 1.4% and 1.25%, respectively. Zurich Insurance Group ended 1.04% up, while Swiss Life Holding gained nearly 1%.
Shares of drugmaker Novartis gained about 0.7% after the company said that its twice-yearly drug Leqvio met the primary endpoints of its late-stage V-Mono study, significantly reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in certain patients at risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Lonza Group, Nestle, VAT Group, SGS, Swisscom, Alcon, Lindt & Spruengli and Kuehne + Nagel advanced 0.4 to 0.75%.
Swatch Group ended down 1.27%. Straumann Holding, Richemont, SIG Group, UBS Group and Logitech International lost 0.6 to 1%.
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