The Swiss Stock Market Fell Due To Weakness In Financials & Cyclicals

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first day of the new trading week with a loss. The market pulled back in early trade and extended its losses going into the close, following the weak opening on Wall Street. Financial and cyclical stocks were among the weakest performers Monday.

Investors were in a nervous mood ahead of the Italian referendum on constitutional reforms, which will be held this Sunday. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is staking his political future on this referendum that would change the Italian constitution by weakening the upper house of parliament and strengthening the central government.

Traders are also awaiting the result of the OPEC meeting that will take place on Wednesday. Uncertainty about whether the members of the cartel will manage to finalize an agreement on reducing oil production continues to weigh on sentiment.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.74 percent Monday and finished at 7,823.23. The Swiss Leader Index declined 0.76 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.65 percent.

The financial stocks were under pressure due to concerns over the Italian banks, especially Monte dei Paschi. Credit Suisse dropped 2.2 percent and UBS weakened by 1.5 percent. Julius Baer, ??Swiss Re and Swiss Life all fell 0.9 percent each. Zurich Insurance also surrendered 1.7 percent.

The cyclicals also turned in a weak performance. LafargeHolcim decreased 1.9 percent and Syngenta lost 1.4 percent. Galenica also weakened by 1.6 percent. The U.S. FDA granted approval to Galenica's Veltassa.

ABB forfeited 1.0 percent and Schindler also finished lower by 0.7 percent. The luxury goods companies also finished in the red. Richemont slipped 0.4 percent and Swatch surrendered 0.9 percent.

The index heavyweights also finished in negative territory. Novartis declined 0.6 percent and Roche fell 0.5 percent. Shares of Nestlé also decreased 0.7 percent.

Bakery business Aryzta initially dropped around 2 percent after its total revenues for the first quarter declined 3.3 percent from last year to 962.3 million euros. However, management comments regarding outlook were well received, which pushed the stock higher by 1.4 percent for the day.

Actelion climbed 3 percent after Johnson & Johnson confirmed that it has engaged in preliminary discussions with the biopharmaceutical company regarding a potential transaction.