Switzerland Stocks Climb as UBS, Roche Holding Lead Advance
November 28, 2011, 2:38 AM ESTBy Corinne Gretler
Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks rose, paring its largest weekly drop in three months, following a report that euro-area policy makers may drop private-sector involvement from their permanent bailout mechanism.
Health-care companies paced gains, led by Roche Holding AG. UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, rose 1.1 percent.
The Swiss Market Index, a measure of the biggest and most actively traded companies, rose 0.7 percent to 5,395.61 at the close in Zurich, having earlier fallen as much as 0.9 percent. The gauge still declined 3.9 percent this week, posting its biggest weekly drop since August. The broader Swiss Performance Index added 0.6 percent today.
“We’re seeing a redemption of shorts, and the bears fearing that the euro area may announce revisions to the European treaty this weekend,” said John Plassard, a director at Louis Capital Markets in Geneva. “Investors are also looking for a technical rebound after so many bearish days.”
Swiss stocks advanced after Reuters reported that euro-area states have considered dropping private-sector involvement from the permanent bailout mechanism as part of wider treaty change discussions. The newswire cited European Union officials.
Italy Bill Sale
Italy’s two-year note yield rose to 7.66 percent today. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, speaking in Rome today, said it looks as if contagion is spreading to the euro area’s larger economies.
The Financial Times reported the European Financial Stability Facility may fail to increase its capacity to more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) as planned because of deteriorating market conditions over the past month, citing three unnamed senior euro-area officials.
Roche, the world’s largest maker of cancer drugs, added 1.5 percent to 136.70 Swiss francs. Its breast-cancer drug Pertuzumab’s phase three trial data is expected to be positive, Exane BNP Paribas analyst Vincent Meunier wrote in a note to clients.
UBS added 1.1 percent to 10.12 francs as financial shares pulled the SMI higher. Julius Baer Group Ltd., the 121-year-old Swiss private bank, gained 1.6 percent to 31.54 francs.
--With assistance from Adria Cimino in Paris. Editors: Matthias Wabl, Will Hadfield
To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
