(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stocks market ended flat on Tuesday despite spending much of the day's trading session in positive territory. Investors assessed the situation in the Middle East amidst differing accounts from U.S. President Donald Trump and the Israelian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While Trump said he asked both Israel and Hezbollah to halt hostilities, the Israelian Prim Minister's description of the discussions was somewhat limited.
The benchmark SMI, which climbed to a high of 13,394.73, settled at 13,305.72, just above previous close of 13,305.40.
VAT Group jumped nearly 5%. Logitech International rallied 3.7% and ABB gained 3.21%, while Kuehne + Nagel and Amrize both ended up by about 2.25%.
Sika gained 1.61% and Julius Baer moved up 1.17%. Julius Baer, Geberit, Holcim and Richemont posted modest gains.
Roche, Sandoz Group, SGS, Alcon and Swiss Re ended down by 1.4%-2.5%. Lindt & Spruengli and Novartis shed 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed Switzerland's trade surplus widened to CHF 3.2 billion in April from a downwardly revised and more-than-two-year low of CHF 2.6 billion in the previous month. Exports edged up 0.1% month-over-month to a three-month high of CHF 22.3 billion. Meanwhile, imports dropped 3.0% month-over-month to CHF 19.0 billion.
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