Swiss Market Ends Modestly Lower After Choppy Session
(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market closed modestly lower on Friday after a choppy session, as investors largely chose to stay on the sidelines or refrained from significant moves amid rising fears of a global trade war.
A report showing an improvement in Switzerland's leading indicator helped limit market's downside.
The benchmark SMI ended down 26.80 points or 0.21% at 12,840.43. The index, which advanced to 12,910.27 after a sluggish start, dropped to a low of 12,794.20 in late afternoon trade before paring some losses.
Swisscom ended nearly 4% down. ABB closed lower by about 2.7%. SIG Group, VAT Group, Geberit, Logitech International, Swatch Group, Partners Group, Julius Baer and UBS Group ended down 1.3 to 2.1%.
Holcim, Sika and Richemont also ended notably lower.
Sandoz Group climbed nearly 1.5%. Givaudan, Roche, Nestle, Lindt & Spruengli, Sonova and SGS gained 0.4 to 0.9%.
A measure signaling future turning points in the Swiss economy strengthened in March to the highest level in seven months, indicating that the outlook for the economy remains robust, the results of a survey by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed.
The economic barometer rose to 103.9 in March from an upwardly revised 102.6 in February.
"It continues to remain above its medium-term average since the beginning of the year," the KOF said.
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