The Swiss Stock Market Finished Slightly Lower - UBS In Focus

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's trading session with a slight decline. The weak performance of UBS weighed on the market, following its disappointing earnings report. The heavyweight pharma giants also turned in a negative finish, which pressured the overall market.

Reports that Eurozone officials are considering extending Greece's bailout program by up to six months provided a boost in the afternoon. The positive mood was only slightly weakened after a German finance minister denied the reports. Investors will be watching for any further developments at tomorrow's meeting of euro zone finance ministers.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.14 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,620.42. The Swiss Leader Index lost 0.07 percent and the Swiss Performance Index dipped by 0.02 percent.

UBS sank by 2.6 percent Tuesday, after the release of its full year earnings report. The company warned that the increased value of the franc, after the SNB decided to remove its cap on the currency, will put pressure on its profitability. Also, the U.S. has launched new investigation into the selling of certain securities. Credit Suisse also fell by 0.4 percent.

Novartis declined by 0.5 percent Tuesday and Roche fell by 0.3 percent. However, fellow index heavyweight Nestle finished the day with an increase of 0.4 percent.

Transocean dropped by 3.7 percent, as oil prices decreased Tuesday. Credit Suisse also lowered its rating on the stock to "Underperform" from "Neutral." Sonova declined by 1.1 percent and Syngenta lost 0.7 percent.