Swiss Market Ends On Weak Note

The Switzerland market ended weak on Monday, bucking the largely positive trend in Europe, as investors refrained from making significant moves.

The market digested the nation’s non-farm payroll data and looked ahead to the GDP report due later in the week.

The benchmark SMI climbed higher after opening slightly down, but slipped into negative territory around late morning and stayed weak till the end of the session. The index, which advanced to 11,766.18 in early trades, closed down 37.91 points or 0.32% at 11,678.59.

Sonova and Novartis both ended nearly 1.9% down. Holcim, Swiss Life Holding, Givaudan, Alcon, ABB, Kuehne + Nagel and Roche Holding closed down 0.3 to 1.2%.

Julius Baer closed up 2.1% and VAT Group ended 2.07% up. Logitech International climbed 1.66% and Adecco gained about 1.4%.

Lonza Group, Swatch Group, Swiss Re, Straumann Holdings, Schindler Ps and Lindt & Spruengli gained 0.4 to 1%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland’s non-farm payrolls rose by 1.2% year-on-year to a record 5.528 million in the third quarter of 2024, following a 1.3% increase in the previous three-month period.