Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended weak on Friday, in line with markets across Europe, as worries about economic slowdown amid tight monetary stance of central banks weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 89.64 points or 0.84% at 10,555.35. The index dropped to a low of 10,519.27 in the session.

Richemont tumbled 5.2% on weak results. The company announced a net profit of Euro 1.51 billion in the first-half, down from an expected profit of Euro 2.17 billion. The company said sales were up 6% to Euro 10.2 billion in the six months ended September, 2023. Sales were expected to rose to Euro 10.34 billion. Alcon ended 2.1% down. Sika ended nearly 2% down. Lonza Group, Kuehne & Nagel, UBS Group and Geberit ended lower by 1 to 1.4%. ABB declined nearly 1%.

Givaudan rallied 2.25%. Holcim, Sonova and Logitech International posted modest gains.

In the Mid Price Index, Swatch Group fell more than 5%. Meyer Burger Tech ended 4.5% down, while AMS and Dufry both settled lower by about 4%.

Tecan Group ended 3.05% down. VAT Group, Temenos Group and SGS also closed notably lower.

Sandoz climbed more than 2%. Georg Fischer finished with a modest gain.