Swiss Market Ends Modestly Lower

The Switzerland market, which started off on a positive note on Tuesday, retreated and moved along the flat line till the penultimate hour of the day’s session, and then lost ground and settled modestly lower.

Investors digested regional economic data and looked ahead to the European Central Bank’s monetary policy announcement due later in the week.

The benchmark SMI ended down 40.38 points or 0.33% at 12,218.85. The index, which climbed to 12,301.70 early on in the session, dropped to a low of 12,208.81 in the final hour.

VAT Group dropped 7.88%. Sandoz Group ended down 3.72%. SIG Group closed lower by 2.82%, and Richemont closed down 2.29%.

Straumann Holding, Julius Baer, ABB, Swatch Group and Partners Group lost 1.4 to 2.1%. Givaudan ended nearly 1% down. Sonova, Swiss Re, Sika, Lonza Group and Schindler Ps also closed weak.

Swisscom gained nearly 1%. Roche Holding, Adecco, Alcon, Logitech International and Zurich Insurance Group posted modest gains.

Shares of Swiss online pharmacy company DocMorris gained more than 2.5% after reporting a year-over-year increase in third-quarter external revenue to 265.7 million francs from 256 million francs.