Swiss Market Fails To Hold Gains, Ends Weak For 2nd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - After holding firm in positive territory till around mid afternoon on Friday, the Switzerland stock market drifted lower and eventually ended the session on a weak note.

Worries about an escalation in tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and lingering concerns about inflation contributed to the market's weak close.

The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 12,157.62, ended the day at 12,010.09 with a loss of 65.18 points or 0.54%. The index ended nearly 1% down on Thursday.

Sika declined 3.1% after the Chemicals company confirmed its previous target of 6-8% annual growth up to 2023.

Lonza Group ended lower by 2.3% and Partners Group shed nearly 2%. Alcon and Holcim both closed lower by about 1.25%, while Geberit, ABB, Credit Suisse, Givaudan and Roche Holding shed 0.8 to 1.1%.

UBS Group, SGS, Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance Group and Novartis ended modestly lower, while Swisscom and Nestle both declined 0.7%.

Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, Zur Rose declined more than 8%. Temenos Group, Dufry, Clariant, Straumann Holding, Tecan Group and VAT Group lost 2.25 to 3.3%.

On the economic front, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed industrial output in Switzerland grew by 7.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, slowing from an upwardly revised 8.5% rise in the previous three-month period. It was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth in industrial activity, but the softest pace since the first quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, industrial production rose 0.2% in the fourth quarter, recovering from a downwardly revised 1.1% fall in the previous period.