The Swiss Stock Market Declined On Weak Chinese Data

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session in negative territory. The market got off to a weak start, due to weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data. The weak opening of the U.S. markets also contributed to the negative mood in the afternoon.

A key indicator of China's factory sector performance declined sharply in January to a level indicating contraction in business activity. The headline purchasing managers' index fell to a six-month low of 49.6 in January from 50.5 in December.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.73 percent Thursday and finished at 8,404.98. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.86 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.70 percent.

Shares of Lonza were in focus, after the Life Science Group reported full year results. The stock increased by 3.3 percent despite the weaker than expected sales. Logitech International also surged by 18 percent after reporting quarterly profit and revenue that topped analysts' estimates.

Transocean dropped by 4.0 percent, due to the decline in oil prices. Richemont declined by 2.5 percent and Swatch lost 2.2 percent, due to the weak Chinese data. Actelion fell by 2.0 percent, after Cheuvreux Kepler downgraded it to "Hold" from "Buy."