The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Very Slight Decrease

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first day of the new trading week with a very modest decline, nearly unchanged for the session. Index heavyweight Nestle began trading ex-dividend Monday, which weighed on the overall market. The losses in Nestle offset gains that were sparked by Chinese stimulus measures.

China's reserve requirement ratio was reduced by 100 basis points Sunday, the biggest such cut since the financial crisis. The People's Bank of China lowered the amount set aside by banks as reserves to 18.5 percent effective Monday. Investors also continue to monitor the situation in Greece ahead of the meeting of euro-area finance ministers on April 24.

The Swiss Market Index dipped by 0.02 percent Monday and finished at 9,243.71. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.41 percent and the Swiss Performance Index gained 0.61 percent.

Nestle dropped by 2.6 percent Monday, after the stock began trading ex-dividend. The rest of the index heavyweights finished to the upside. Roche increased by 1.1 percent and Novartis added 0.5 percent.

Transocean was another notable decliner, falling by 2.5 percent after last week's strong gains. Aryzta dropped by 1.5 percent and Swatch lost 1.3 percent. Syngenta decreased by 0.4 percent, after Cheuvreux removed the stock from its "Swiss selected list."

Clariant was among the best performing stocks, with an increase of 2.8 percent. Givaudan climbed by 1.7 percent, after Barclays upgraded its rating on the stock to "Equal weight." Actelion also gained 1.6 percent.

Sika increased by 1.5 percent. The Board of Directors of the building materials group intends to submit an alternative offer to the deal with Saint-Gobain to the owner family Burkard.

Shares of UBS advanced by 1.1 percent. Chief Financial Officer Tom Naratil promised increasing dividends in a newspaper interview, as well as a return on equity of 15 percent. Credit Suisse rose by 0.8 percent and Julius Baer added 1.0 percent.