"Political leaders are in agreement on budget controls, but there isn't a lot that has changed"
- Guillaume Chaloin, a fund manager at Meeschaert Asset Management
Swiss stocks jumped on Wednesday after a report showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in January.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, gained 1.67%, or 99.42 points, to 6,069.91. The broader Swiss Performance Index rose 1.64%, or 88.74 points, to 5,501.24.
"While waiting for a solution to the European debt crisis, markets are celebrating the small positive steps forward such as this morning's Chinese data," Torben Hoeyer, the chief equity adviser at Nordea Private Bank in Copenhagen, said in a note to clients.
In a separate report, the Federal Statistical Office said year-on-year retail sales rose modest 0.6 per cent, after increasing 1.8 per cent in November.
© Dukascopy Bank