Swiss Re Helps Insurers' Gains
May 09, 2011
The Swiss Market Index rose 5.4 to 3720 points. Traders cited Swiss Re's 3.15-billion-franc purchase of the U.K.'s Mercantile & General Re from Prudential Corp.. PLC as the reason for its 31-franc rally to 1301 francs.. Swiss Re's gain helped other insurers by pulling Bosco up 3 francs to 760 francs and Zurich up 2 francs to 332 francs. Elsewhere, Roche, which fell 30 francs to 15,425 francs, came in for some selling after it reported first-half profit rose 16%, which tipped toward the lower end of the range of forecasts. Among other drug shares, Ciba-Geigy rose 3 francs to 1555 francs, while merger partner Sandoz added 1 franc to 1457 francs. Both report first-half profit on Wednesday, with double-digit rises expected for both. Banking shares ended mixed. Union Bank shed 1 franc to 1195 francs. Among other blue chips, Moritz added 2 francs to 1419 francs, while ABB Asea Brown Boveri gained 2 francs to 1,485 francs.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
