Swiss Franc Falls, Norwegian Crown Surges After SNB, Norges Hikes

A picture illustration of the U.S. dollar, Swiss Franc, British pound, and Euro banknotes, taken in Warsaw, Poland, on Jan. 26, 2011. Kacper Pempel/Reuters

LONDON—The Swiss franc fell on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hiked its benchmark interest rate, while the Norwegian crown surged after a bolder Norges Bank move.

The SNB raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent, defying some market expectations of a bigger increase.