(RTTNews.com) – The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week with a small gain. The market dropped in early trade and remained in negative territory for much of the morning. However, the positive opening on Wall Street helped to boost the market into the green in the afternoon.
The trading session was rather quiet due to a lack of corporate news and a public holiday in the U.K. The uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike plans also kept some investors on the sidelines. Hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
at the end of the prior week has traders preparing for a rate hike in the coming months. Investors will be keeping a close watch on the U.S. employment report for August at the end of the week.
The Swiss Market Index increased 0.19 percent Monday and finished at 8,184.09. The SMI hit an intraday low of 8,125 points. The Swiss Leader Index rose 0.1 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.15 percent.
Galenica was another notable gainer, with an increase of 1.2 percent, while Syngenta rose 0.8 percent. Julius Baer
advanced 0.8 percent and Credit Suisse added 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, UBS ended the session unchanged.
The luxury goods companies were among the weakest performing stocks at the start of the week. Richemont dropped 1.3 percent and Swatch fell 1.2 percent. LafargeHolcim weakened by 1.1 percent, Geberit surrendered 0.8 percent and Schindler PS lost 0.6 percent. Baloise decreased 1.1 percent, Swiss Re forfeited 0.4 percent and Zurich slipped 0.1 percent.
In the broad market, Bachem surged 6.9 percent after Vontobel raised its target price on the stock. Alpiq jumped 6.7 percent. The stock extended Friday’s gains following its half year report.
Apparel company Charles Vögele climbed 3.1 percent on takeover speculation.
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Plantations International