The Swiss Stock Market Dropped On Nestle Weakness

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a significant loss and ended the week in the red. A sense of nervousness was also evident in the currency markets, where the euro recovered some ground against the Swiss franc.

Concerns over the situation in Greece had a negative impact on investor sentiment. The possibility of a Greek default and a Greek exit of the Eurozone has investors on edge. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble refused further concessions to Greece and the International Monetary Fund ruled out giving the country any leeway on 1 billion euros of debt repayments due by early May.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 1.62 percent Friday and closed at 9,245.92. The SMI ended the overall trading week with a loss of 2.4 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped by 1.75 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.58 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished in the red Friday. Roche and Novartis both declined by 1.9 percent. Shares of Nestle fell by 0.9 percent. The food giant's first quarter revenues fell short of expectations.

Syngenta was the largest decliner Friday, with a loss of 4.4 percent. The agro-chemical company reported sales figures for the first quarter that were significantly below expectations.

Actelion dropped by 3.9 percent, after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to "Sell." Transocean fell by 0.7 percent, after it scrapped another oil drilling platform.

Holcim decreased by 1.1 percent, after details were provided on asset sales in the United States. Lafarge will receive around US$450 million for a cement plant in Iowa and several terminals and Holcim sold some equipment for an undisclosed price.

Julius Baer was the weakest performer among the financial stocks, with a decline of 3.8 percent. UBS and Credit Suisse both dropped by 1.2 percent.