(fxcue news) - After a weak start and a subsequent recovery, the Swiss market struggled for direction till mid afternoon on Friday, but gained in strength thanks to some brisk buying at several counters in last ninety minutes of the day's session. Worries about fresh tariffs by the U.S. and their likely impact on growth rendered the mood a bit cautious. The benchmark SMI closed up 46.14 points or 0.36% at 13,004.48, after scaling a low of 12,884.27 and a high of 13,020.65. Holcim climbed about 3%. UBS Group gained 2.7%. Swatch Group, Lindt & Spruengli and Givaudan ended higher by 1.2 to 1.4%. Richemont, Swisscom, Sika, Julius Baer, Zurich Insurance Group, Alcon, Partners Group and Kuehne + Nagel posted modest gains. Logitech International tumbled 4.7%. VAT Group, ABB, SGS, SIG Group and Sonova closed lower by 1 to 1.5%. Clariant dropped by about 5.5% following a decline in sales in 2024. The company said it expects local currency sales growth for 2025 to be at the lower end of its 3% to 5% forecast range amid a challenging economic environment. Geberit, Swiss Re, Adecco, Straumann Holding and Sandoz Group also closed weak. Data from the Federal Statistical Office said retail sales in Switzerland increased 1.3% year-on-year in January 2025 from a downwardly revised 2.5% rise in the previous month. This marked the weakest growth in retail trade activity since last June when the retail sales fell 3%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade edged down 0.1% in January, reversing a downwardly revised 0.5% rise in the preceding month. A report from Swiss Economic Institute said the KOF Economic Barometer fell to 101.7 in February 2025, down from a revised 103 in January and slightly below market expectations of 102.