The Swiss Stock Market Closed Out 2015 With A Loss

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's largely uneventful trading session to the downside. The market got off to a positive start today, but gave back its early gains by midday and slipped into negative territory in the afternoon. The U.S. markets got off to a weak start this afternoon, which contributed to the negative mood.

The Swiss stock market will be closed for the next two sessions for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The SMI ended 2015 with a decrease of 1.84 percent, following three consecutive years of gains. The biggest development this year occurred in mid-January, when the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly uncapped the Swiss franc from the Euro.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.73 percent Wednesday and closed at 8,818.09. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.59 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.65 percent.

Shares of Julius Baer were in focus on the final trading day of the year. The stock gained 4 percent after it reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. to settle a tax evasion probe. The lender has set aside nearly $200 million in additional provisions for the settlement.

Also among the few gainers Wednesday was LafargeHolcim, with an increase of 0.3 percent. Galenica and Lonza both climbed by 0.2 percent each.

Swiss Re was among the decliners, falling by 1.6 percent. UBS, Richemont and SGS all lost 1.0 percent each.

Looking at the annual balance sheet, Galenica was the top performing stock this year, nearly doubling in price. In second place was Lonza with an increase of around 45 percent.

Sika and Syngenta both climbed by about 22 percent this year. Sika continues to deal with an ongoing dispute about the planned sale of a majority vote to French group Saint-Gobain. Syngenta has been the subject of much M&A speculation.

Actelion and Swiss Re were both up by about 20 percent annually, while UBS gained 15 percent.

Among the weakest performing stocks of the year were shares of Aryzta, which ended the year with a drop of over 33 percent, mainly due to profit warnings. Transocean also sank 32 percent due to falling crude oil prices.