Swiss Market Fails To Hold Gains, Ends Moderately Lower

(RTTNews) - Despite spending much of the day's trading session in positive territory, the Switzerland market ended on a weak note on Wednesday as stocks fell in late afternoon trade.

Concerns about growth and prospects of further interest rate hikes weighed on the market. Investors also awaited the vote on U.S. debt ceiling bill, due later in the day.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 64.56 points or 0.57% at 11,217.89. The index, which climbed to 11,348.23 around late morning, fell to a low of 11,194.94 in the final hour.

Richemont declined nearly 4%. Credit Suisse lost 2.56% and UBS Group ended nearly 2% down.

Geberit, ABB, Swiss Life Holding, Sonova, Givaudan, Logitech and Swiss Re ended lower by 0.8 to 1.4%.

Swisscom, Lonza Group, Holcim and Novartis posted modest gains.

In the Mid Price Index, DocMorris and Swatch Group both shed about 5.25%. Georg Fischer ended 3.07% down, while Dufry, Adecco, SIG Combibloc and Tecan Group lost 2.4 to 3.1%.

Baloise Holding, Schindler Ps, Straumann Holding, Clariant, Schindler Holding and Kuehne & Nagel also ended notably lower.

Lindt & Spruengli N declined 2.6%. Swiss Prime Site and Temenos Group ended lower by about 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.

In economic news, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed retail sales in Switzerland plunged 3.7% year-on-year in April 2023, following a 1.9% drop in the previous month. On a seasonally adjusted montly basis, retail sales dropped 2%, the biggest fall since July 21.

A report from Credit Suisse & CFA Society showed the Swiss investors' sentiment rose by 1.1 points from the previous month to -32.2 in May of 2023.