"There's market speculation of a bailout, though the official line is still that Spain won't seek one"
- Pierre Mouton, a portfolio manager at Notz Stucki & Cie.
Swiss stocks rose, after news that Spain is about to ask for international financial aid pushed market sentiment higher. Spain will have to make necessary reforms, like freezing pensions and increasing the retirement age as it races to cut spending in order to meet conditions of an expected international sovereign aid package.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies advanced 0.75 per cent to 6,605.82. The broader Swiss Performance Index rose 0.66 per cent to 6,111.62.
"There is that news out of Europe, where they seem to be making more progress towards helping Spain out, so that is going to continue to kind of support us, for sure," said Ken Polcari, Managing Director at ICAP Equities in New York.
"There's market speculation of a bailout, though the official line is still that Spain won't seek one. If the bond spreads widen again, that will accelerate a bailout process," said Pierre Mouton, a portfolio manager at Notz Stucki & Cie. in Geneva.
© Dukascopy Bank SA