The Switzerland stock market ended slightly up on Thursday thanks to selective buying at some key counters, even as the mood remained cautious amid surging coronavirus cases and uncertainty about U.S. fiscal stimulus.
The benchmark SMI slipped to a low of 9,890.11 in early trades, but regained its losses by noon, and spent much of the day's trading session thereafter slightly below the flat line. It finally ended with a small gain of 9.30 points or 0.09% at 9,999.05.
Sika ended more than 2.5% up after the company upgraded its full-year guidance, saying it expects operating profit to be broadly in line with 2019 levels.
Sika's net profit dropped to 561.5 million francs in the third quarter from 566.8 million Swiss francs a year earlier. Operating profit fell 1.1% to 797.4 million francs.
Third-quarter sales were 3.7% lower than a year earlier, but operating profit was 19% higher thanks to efficiency measures, the company said.
Alcon, UBS Group, Zurich Insurance Group gained 1 to 1.5%, while SGS and Geberit advanced 0.65% and 0.6%, respectively.
LafargeHolcim slid 1.1%. Credit Suisse, Roche Holding and Swatch Group ended lower by 0.6 to 0.7%, while Lonza Group, Givaudan and Swiss Life Holding lost 0.4 to 0.5%.
In the midcap section, Straumann Holding gained about 3.7% and Vifor Pharma moved up 1.35%. SIG Combibloc and Flughafen Zurich posted moderate gains.
On the other hand, Logitech ended more than 3.5% down, AMS, Schindler Ps and BB Biotech lost 2.4 to 2.8%, while Kuehne & Nagel, Clariant, Lindt & Spruengli and Adecco ended lower by 1 to 1.3%.
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