Swiss Market Ends Moderately Lower

The Switzerland stock market, which fell into the red after staying positive till around mid-morning on Friday, emerged higher later, but faltered in the final minutes to end on a negative note.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 57.17 points or 0.52% at 11,022.34, the day’s low. The index touched a high of 11,123.35 around mid morning.

Sika, Geberit, ABB, UBS Group, Partners Group and Credit Suisse shed 1 to 1.85%. Givaudan ended nearly 1% down, while Swatch Group, Roche Holding, Alcon and LafargeHolcim lost 0.6 to 0.8%.

Swiss Re shares gained nearly 3% after reporting strong first-quarter results. The insurer reported a net profit of $333 million in the first quarter, compared with a $225 million loss a year earlier.

Lonza Group moved up 1.7%. The company is reportedly planning to recruit temporary workers from Nestle to deploy in plants making ingredients for the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

In the Mid Price Index, Schindler Ps and Schindler Holding lost 5% and 4.4%, respectively. Temenos Group shed about 3%, while Georg Fischer, Clariant, Cembra Money Bank, SIG Combibloc, Adecco and Ems Chemie Holding lost 1.2 to 2%.

Logitech gained 3.5%, Flughafen Zurich rallied 3.1%, Vifor Pharma climbed 1.5% and Tecan Group advanced 1.1%.