Swiss shares closed robustly on Friday, following gains on the global market amid the anticipation that several central banks will soon reduce interest rates. The benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) had a steady day, closing with a gain of 151.49 points or 1.31% at 11,753.70, just shy of the day's peak of 11,761.78.
Sandoz Group's shares rose by 3.33%, while Julius Baer increased by almost 3%. Swiss Re, UBS Group, Holcim, and VAT Group all ended the day 2.15 to 3% higher. Novartis and Richemont both had nearly 2% growth. Novartis reported that its Scemblix product received a breakthrough therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in its chronic phase.
Partners Group, Roche Holdings, Swiss Life Holding, Sonova, ABB, SIG Group, Lindt Spruengli, and Nestle all gained between 1 and 1.7%. Adecco surged by more than 4.5%, ams OSRAM also gained 4.5%, and Avolta grew by 2.79%. Additionally, BKW, Barry Callebaut, and Georg Fischer all ended the day with 1.3 to 1.8% growth.
However, Givaudan and Kuehne & Nagel saw a slight drop in their shares. Similarly, Straumann Holding, Swatch Group, SGS, and Schindler Ps also experienced a marginal decrease.
