ZURICH: The Swiss franc climbed alongside the euro against the dollar on Tuesday, with the common currency supported by investors prepared to take on risk, which also helped European equity markets gain. European stock markets rose somewhat at the open, although volumes were expected to be thin, with US stock markets closed for a second day due to a powerful storm battering the US East Coast. The Swiss franc frequently trades in tandem with the euro against the greenback, as a result of the Swiss National Bank's cap of 1.20 per euro on the safe-haven unit set a year ago to forestall a recession. Switzerland long looked resilient to the woes besetting the neighbouring euro zone, in part thanks to robust private consumption. Yet the economy surprisingly contracted in the second quarter and leading indicators, including the ZEW sentiment gauge and the PMI manufacturing sector index, signal tougher times ahead. The UBS Swiss consumption indicator rose to 1.07 points in September from a revised 1.02 points in August, the bank's economists said on Tuesday, adding they expected private consumption to be a big contributor to growth this year. "Given the economic weakness in the euro zone. the Swiss economy is going through several challenging months, but thanks to moderate domestic demand be able to avoid a recession," said Bernd Hartmann, head of research at VP Bank. The franc rose 0.3 percent against the dollar to trade at 0.9337 by 0810 GMT compared to the New York close. The franc was flat at 1.2086 against the euro.

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