Swiss Market Ends Flat

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market, which opened notably lower and stayed weak right through the entire session, ended flat on Monday as investors remained reluctant to make significant moves.

The benchmark SMI, which dropped to 11,842.76 at the start, losing nearly 150 points in the process, ended the day at 11,986.78, down 0.53 points or 0.0%.

Givaudan surged up 2.72%. Nestle, Lonza Group and SGS gained 1 to 1.1%. ABB ended higher by about 0.75%.

UBS Group declined 2.82%. Holcim and Credit Suisse ended lower by 1.24% and 1.07%, respectively. Geberit, Swiss Life Holding, Novartis, Logitech and Richemont shed 0.5 to 1%.

In the Swiss Mid Price index, Georg Fischer ended 3.49% down. Julius Baer, Adecco, Helvetia and Lindt & Spruengli Part shed 2.2 to 2.61%. AMS, Dufry, Flughafen Zurich and Vifor Pharma also ended notably lower.

Sonova, Schindler Holding, Tecan Group, Schindler Ps and Kuehna & Nagel lost 2.2 to 3.3%. Straumann Holding, VAT Group, Clariant and SIG Combibloc ended lower by 1 to 1.6%.

Data released by tahe State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed the Swiss economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter due to the restrictive measures associated with the pandemic weighed on activity.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3% sequentially in the fourth quarter, much slower than the 1.9% expansion seen in the third quarter. Growth was forecast to slow to 0.4%. On a yearly basis, GDP growth slowed marginally to 3.7%, as expected, from 3.8% in the prior quarter.

In the whole year of 2021, GDP was up 3.7%, in contrast to the 2.4% slump in 2020. The manufacturing industry grew the most, driven by robust exports. The service sector also recovered.

Results of a monthly survey by the KOF Institute showed a key measure of turning points in Switzerland's economy fell unexpectedly in February to its lowest level in a year, dropping to 105% in the month from 107.2 in January, which was revised from 107.8.

Economists had expected the reading to rise to 108.5. The latest reading, which was the weakest since February last year, is still to some extent higher than the long-term average, the Zürich-based think tank said.

Data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office showed retail sales in Switzerland jumped 5.1% year-on-year in January of 2022, compared to an upwardly revised 0.5% decline in the previous month and defying market expectations of a 1.2% gain. On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 0.4%, slowing from a downwardly revised 1.9% fall in December.