Switzerland's unemployment was steady in August, figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed on Friday. The overall jobless rate remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 2.9%, from 2.9% in the preceding month.
"The seeds are there for the rally to continue, but we have to see what the conditions tied to the [European Central Bank's] bond-buying program are going to be. The main question is whether the conditions are too tough for Spain and Italy to come forward and ask for support," said Victoria Clarke, economist at Investec Securities.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies advanced 0.14 per cent to 6,537.32. The broader Swiss Performance Index added 0.28 per cent to 6,045.23.