Swiss Market Ends Sharply Lower As Stocks Fall In The Final Hour

(RTTNews) - After opening on a strong note and holding gains till about the penultimate hour, Swiss stocks changed track and plunged sharply into the red on Thursday.

Worries about recovery in the wake of somewhat disappointing economic data, and a lack of positive news prompted investors to take profits at several counters.

The market had moved up sharply earlier in the week amid optimism about potential coronavirus vaccines and hopes of fresh stimulus from global central banks and governments.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 164.20 points or 1.58% at 10,220.64, falling almost 300 points from the day's high of 10,511.13.

Sika, Alcon and Lonza Group lost 3.3 to 3.8%. Geberit ended nearly 3% down, while LafargeHolcim, Roche Holding and Givaudan ended lower by 2.3 to 2.5%.

ABB slid 1.9%, while Novartis and SGS both ended lower by about 1.6%. Zurich Insurance Group shed about 1.1%.

Among the few gainers, Swatch Group moved up 1.6% and Credit Suisse advanced 0.7%. Adecco closed 0.3% up.

In the midcap section, Vifor Pharma tumbled more than 6.5% and Logitech shed about 6%. Temenos Group, VAT Group, Sonova, AMS and Dorma Kaba Holding lost 4 to 5%.

Dufry surged up 3.8%. Flughafen Zurich gained about 1.7%, while Bucher Industries and Sunrise Communications posted modest gains.

On the economic front, Switzerland's consumer prices continued to decline in August, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed.

The consumer price index decreased 0.9% year-on-year in August, the same rate of fall as seen in July. Economists had expected a 0.8% fall. On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged in August. Economists forecast a 0.1% rise.

Prices for clothing and footwear, accommodation, and communication increased in August, while those for air transport, travel package and housing rent declined.

The core CPI fell 0.4% annually in August and remained unchanged from the previous month.

The EU measure of harmonized index of consumer prices rose 0.1% monthly in August and declined 1.4% from the previous year.

Most of the markets across Europe ended notably lower today. Among the major indices in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 1.52%, Germany's DAX slid 1.4% and France's CAC 40 shed 0.44%. The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 1.4%.