The Swiss Stock Market Pulled Back On Continued Greek Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market finished in the red Tuesday, following the modest gains of the previous trading session. The weak performance of the index heavyweights pressured the overall market and shares of Aryzta were in focus after its weak financial report. Meanwhile, shares of the big banks were among the best performers.

Concerns over the situation in Greece continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Greece is approaching its debt-repayment deadline of June 5 and is running out of time to reach a deal with its international creditors. Investors will be watching for further developments at Wednesday's European Central Bank meeting.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.68 percent Tuesday and finished at 9,204.09. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.48 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.67 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished solidly to the downside Tuesday. Roche dropped by 1.6 percent and Novartis fell by 1.1 percent. The pharma giants had been among the best performing stocks yesterday. Shares of Nestle also declined by 1.0 percent.

Shares of Aryzta plunged by 9.2 percent Tuesday. The baked goods manufacturer reported results for the first nine months of the year, which disappointed investors. The company also scaled back its forecasts for the full year.

Specialty chemicals group Clariant sank by 4.6 percent today, following the strong gains of the previous session. Monday's gains stemmed from renewed rumors of a takeover by rival Evonik. However, a representative of Evonik's main shareholder, RAG, rejected the possibility of an acquisition of Clariant today.

Lonza dropped by 3.3 percent. The stock was downgraded to "Hold" from "Buy" at Baader Helvea.

Transocean was the top performing stock of the session, with an increase of 3.9 percent. The stock bounced back from yesterday's weakness.

Financial stocks also turned in a solid performance. Credit Suisse climbed by 1.2 percent and UBS added 0.5 percent. Julius Baer finished higher by 0.9 percent and Baloise gained 0.2 percent.