The Switzerland market opened weak Friday morning and kept drifting lower and lower as the day progressed and eventually closed on with a more than 1% loss.
The mood, in line with other major markets in Europe, remained a bit subdued as investors moved past Fed’s rate hike move and looked for fresh directional cues.
Investors looked ahead to the Swiss National Bank’s monetary policy announcement next Thursday. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates for the third time next week, taking the key policy rate to 1% from 1.25%.
The benchmark SMI ended down 124.23 points or 1.03% at 11,934.07, slightly off the session’s low.
VAT Group ended down 4.82% and Kuehne + Nagel closed 4.4% down. Nestle ended nearly 4% down, and Swatch Group drifted down 3.25%.
Julius Baer, Straumann Holding and Richemont lost nearly 3%. Sika closed lower by 2.64%. Lonza Group, Holcim, Sonova, Geberit, SIG Group, Lindt & Sprengli and ABB ended down 1 to 2%.
SGS advanced 1.21%. Swisscom, Roche Holding, Roche GS, Givaudan and Novartis closed higher by 0.6 to 1%.
Market Analysis
Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower
2024-09-20 17:48:07
