Swiss stocks remained robust throughout Thursday's trading session, buoyed by consistent buying as investors responded to earnings updates.
The benchmark SMI, which reached an intraday high of 11,983.75, concluded the day with an increase of 47.40 points or 0.4%, closing at 11,946.66.
Swiss Re saw a nearly 4% surge after reporting a net income of $1.1 billion, or $3.76 per share, for the first quarter of 2024. The insurance revenue for the latest quarter amounted to $11.7 billion.
Zurich Insurance Group appreciated approximately 3.5%, driven by encouraging quarterly earnings. The company reported a 5% rise in its first-quarter Property & Casualty (P&C) gross written premiums, which increased to $12.62 billion from last year's $11.97 billion, an ascent of 9% on a like-for-like basis.
P&C insurance revenue grew 9% to $10.25 billion, up from $9.41 billion a year earlier. On a like-for-like basis, overall insurance revenue rose 12%. The company also noted a 29% increase in life insurance revenue from short-term insurance contracts, reaching $680 million.
Roche Holdings advanced 3.2%, while Logitech International and Swiss Life Holding both gained nearly 1.25%.
Swatch Group, Kuehne & Nagel, Straumann Holding, and Richemont recorded moderate gains.
Conversely, VAT Group and Lindt & Sprüngli declined by 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Holcim, ABB, UBS Group, Lonza Group, Novartis, and Sika ended the session with losses ranging from 0.7% to 1.2%.