(RTTNews) - After opening marginally up and staying modestly above the flat line till a little past mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Swiss stocks moved higher as buying gathered some momentum and finally ended the session on a bright note.
The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 14,583.81, a new 52-week high, settled with a gain of 149.36 points or 1.04% at 14,571.33.
Sika, the top gainer in the SMI index, soared 9.8%. The specialty chemicals company reported slightly lower earnings for the first half of 2026, as a modest decline in sales weighed on profitability.
Sika's net profit slipped 0.4% to CHF 552.1 million in the six months ended June 30, from CHF 554.4 million a year earlier. Earnings per share declined 0.6% to CHF 3.43 from CHF 3.45.
For the full year, Sika now expects sales growth of between 3% and 6% in local currencies, compared with its previous guidance of 1% to 4% growth in local currencies.
Straumann Holding moved up 4.3%. Schindler Ps and Geberit closed up by about 3% and 2.85%, respectively.
Nestle, Givaudan, Sandoz Group, Sonova, Roche and Partners Group gained 2%-2.5%. Galderma Group advanced nearly 2%.
Kuehne + Nagel climbed higher after raising revenue guidance. SGS, Alcon, Novartis, Amrize, Lindt & Spruengli and Swisscom gained 1%-1.8%. Logitech International moved up nearly 1%.
VAT Group drifted down by about 3%. ABB lost 2% and UBS Group ended nearly 1% down.
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