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Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a firm note on Tuesday after staying positive almost right through the day's session.
The benchmark SMI ended with a gain of 45.92 points or 0.4% at 11,513.12. The index scaled a low of 11,458.63 and a high of 11.549.03 intraday.
Novartis climbed more than 4% after raising its full-year earnings outlook. ABB surged 3.5% after raising its full-year guidance for sales and profit.
Nestle gained about 0.75%. Roche Holding ended 0.41% up, while Swisscom edged up marginally.
Lonza Group ended lower by 3.77%. Sika lost about 2.5%. UBS Group ended 2.17% down. The banking major reported sharply lower profit in its first quarter due to increased U.S. litigation provision and weak revenues.
Partners Group, Sonova, Geberit, Alcon, Credit Suisse, Logitech and Swiss Life Holding lost 1 to 2%.
In the Mid-Price Index, SGS, Kuehne & Nagel and Adecco lost 4%, 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Temenos Group, AMS, SIG Combibloc, Tecan Group, Zur Rose, VAT Group, Straumann Holding, Schindler Holding and Schindler Ps also declined sharply.
In economic news, Switzerland's trade surplus increased to CHF 8.28 billion in the first quarter from CHF 6.39 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year, due to the rebound in exports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed.