The Swiss Stock Market Fell Again On Greek Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session in the red again Tuesday, adding to the losses of the previous session. The market fluctuated between modest gains and losses in early trade, before turning definitively to the downside in the afternoon.

The uncertainty in Greece continues to weigh on investor sentiment. The Greek government has submitted a request for a two-year bailout with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to fully cover its financing needs, along with debt restructuring. This would imply the country is seeking a third rescue as its second bailout programme ends on today.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.99 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,780.91. The intraday low was 8,769.41 points and the intraday high was 8,896.26. The Swiss Leader Index dropped by 0.94 percent and the Swiss Performance Index fell by 0.90 percent.

Nestle was one of the weakest performing stocks of the session, declining by 2.1 percent. The rest of the index heavyweights finished with more modest declines. Roche fell by 0.5 percent and Novartis lost 0.2 percent. Roche had been up after reporting that the Phase 3 study of its multiple sclerosis drug ocrelizumab met its primary endpoint.

Shares of Aryzta decreased by 2.1 percent Tuesday. The stock has been under heavy pressure and is now down 40 percent since the start of the year. Watchmakers Swatch and Richemont dropped by 2.6 percent and 2.1 percent respectively. Schindler declined by 2.3 percent and ABB weakened by 2.2 percent.

The financial stocks also turned in a weak performance. Credit Suisse dropped by 0.7 percent and UBS surrendered 0.4 percent. Julius Baer also declined by 0.6 percent.