(RTTNews.com) – The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday’s session with a significant increase. A strong performance from index heavyweight Novartis, as well as a rally in bank stocks helped to propel the market higher. The positive performance on Wall Street, including the all-time high level reached by the Dow Jones Industrial, also provided a boost to sentiment.
Investors were also encouraged by signs that new U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to take action on some of his campaign promises. Trump has signed executive orders to advance completion of two controversial pipelines – the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline.
The Swiss Market Index increased by 1.71 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,387.55. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 1.83 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 1.62 percent.
As for the rest of the index heavyweights, Roche advanced 1.5 percent and Nestlé finished higher by 0.6 percent.
European bank stocks rallied higher Wednesday after a strong earnings report by Spanish bank Banco Santander. Credit Suisse increased 4.0 percent and UBS added 2.5 percent. Deutsche Bank also raised its price targets on both banks. Zurich Insurance also climbed 3.5 percent.
Swatch gained 2.4 percent after Deutsche Bank rated the stock a “Buy.” Richemont also finished higher by 2.2 percent. ABB rose 2.8 percent and LafargeHolcim jumped 3.4 percent.
Lonza advanced 1.3 percent. The company reported increased sales and profit in fiscal year 2016, and its Board of Directors has proposed a higher dividend than the previous year.
Aryzta was under pressure again Wednesday, falling by 6.0 percent. The company lost nearly a third of its value yesterday after a profit warning. Syngenta also weakened by 1.3 percent.
In the broad market, Logitech soared 15percent after its third quarter non-GAAP EPS grew 37% to $ 0.56, from $ 0.41 a year ago. The company also raised its full year 2017 guidance.
Kuros surged 33 percent after it completed the purchase of the Dutch Xpand Biotechnology.
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Plantations International