Swiss Market Edges Up Marginally

Despite spending most of the day's session in the red, the Switzerland stock market ended slightly up on Friday.

Amid persisting worries about coronavirus infections and uncertainty about AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine getting a quick nod from the U.S. and European drug regulators, the mood in the market was quite cautious today.

The benchmark SMI, which once again moved in a very narrow range, ended the day with a gain of 3.39 points or 0.03% at 10,501.18. It touched a low of 10,452.14 and a high of 10,505.79 in the session.

Sika, Givaudan and Partners Group gained 1 to 1.2%. Lonza Group, Alcon and Credit Suisse closed higher by 0.5 to 0.7%. UBS Group edged up marginally.

Among the losers in the SMI, Swatch Group slid 1.1%. Swiss Re ended lower by 0.4%, while Richemont, Roche Holding and Novartis edged down by about 0.25%.

Among the components of the Mid Price index, Vifor Pharma soared more than 8%. According to reports, Vifor Pharma had a recent takeover approach from at least one private equity firm, but talks were halted due to differences over price.

AMS gained 3.7%, Georg Fischer rallied 3.4% and Dufty advanced 3%.

Sonova, OC Oerlikon Corp, Barry Callebaut, Clariant, Julius Baer and SIG Combibloc gained 1 to 1.6%.

Baloise Holding, Swiss Prime Site and Flughan Zurch drifted lower.

In Covid-19 news, the number of new cases of the coronavirus infection in Switzerland continues to drop. According to data available, the country saw 4,312 new cases on Friday, down from 4,509 new cases a day earlier.