Swiss Market Ends Weak Again

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market failed to hold early gains and ended moderately lower on Wednesday as worries about rising coronavirus cases weighed on sentiment.

News about a pause in late-stage clinical trials of a couple of coronavirus vaccines due to safety concerns raised uncertainty about availability of a vaccine anytime soon.

The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 10,386.03 by mid-morning, faltered into the red and kept edging lower as the day progressed to eventually close at 10,292.66, netting a loss of 43.70 points or 0.42%.

The index ended with a loss of 27.74 points or 0.27% on Tuesday, after having scored gains in the previous three sessions.

Swatch Group shares slid 1.75%. Credit Suisse, Swiss Re, Nestle, Givaudan, Zurich Insurance Group and UBS Group lost 0.75 to 1%.

Novartis and Roche Holding both ended lower by about 0.3%, while Alcon and ABB gained 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.

In the midcap section, Dufty declined nearly 3%, extending recent losses. Vifor Pharma shed about 1.4%, while Cembra Money Bank, Julius Baer, Lindt & Sp Ps and AMS lost nearly 1%.

Kuehne & Nagel moved up nearly 1.25%. Adecco gained 0.86%, while BB Biotech, Swiss Prime Site and Baloise Holding posted modest gains.