The Switzerland stock market ended weak on Tuesday, in line with markets across Europe, as investors stayed wary of picking up shares amid uncertainty about the pace of global economic recovery due to the impact of the surge in coronavirus cases in several countries.
The benchmark SMI, which stayed in negative territory right through the day, ended the session with a loss of 85.85 points or 0.69% at 12,344.38. The index touched a low of 12,322.68.
Holcim declined more than 3%. ABB, Lonza Group, Roche Holding, Novartis and Sika lost 1 to 1.4%. Zurich Insurance Group shed more than 1% after unveiling new climate measures.
Givaudan shed about 0.85%, while Alcon ended lower by about 0.4%.
Swatch Group shares moved up more than 3%. Richemont ended 2.4% up, while UBS Group and Credit Suisse ended flat.
Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, AMS ended nearly 2% down. Tecan Group, Temenos Group and Clariant shed about 1.3%, while Ems Chemie Holding, Lindt & Spruengli and Vifor Pharma closed lower by 0.7 to 0.85%.
Recruitment firm Adecco Group ended 0.5% down. The company has announced the acquisition of QAPA, a provider of fully digital workforce solutions in France, for an initial consideration of 65 million euros.
VAT Group, Kuehne & Nagel and OC Oerlikon Corp gained 1.84%, 1.46% and 1.3%, respectively. Logitech gained 0.87%.
In economic news, Swiss jobless rate fell a seasonally to 2.9% in August from 3% in July, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed
On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 2.7% in August from 2.8% in the previous month.
The number of registered unemployed declined to 126,355 in August from 128,279 in the preceding month.
The unemployment rate among the youth aged between 15 and 24, increased to 2.6% in August from 2.3% in the prior month.
Market Analysis
Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower
2021-09-07 17:51:25
