The Swiss stock market ended Monday’s trading session in positive territory. The market got off to a good start, thanks to some positive economic data from China.
In the afternoon, the surge in U.S. durable goods propelled the market to 7,495 points, a new high for the year. However, later in the day, those gains began to erode after the decline in U.S. pending home sales.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.34 percent Monday and finished at 7,483.95. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.30 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.32 percent.
The 0.9 percent gain in shares of Novartis provided support to the overall market. The index heavyweight announced an additional approval for its blockbuster drug Gleevec in the U.S. after the European close on Friday. Nestle also climbed by 0.4 percent, after receiving a positive assessment from JP Morgan.
Transocean was one of the best performing stocks of the day, with a gain of 4.2 percent. The increase was attributed to the market covering purchases after Carl Icahn, a major shareholder, demanded before the weekend a dividend of at least 4 per share.
by RTT Staff Writer
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