The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Small Loss Monday

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first day of the new trading week with a modest decrease. The dipped followed 5 straight days of gains for the market. Trading action remained weak Monday, with many investors remaining on holiday. The Swiss market will be closed for the next 3 days.

The market fell into negative territory early Monday and remained there for the rest of the session. There was little news to drive the direction of trading. However, the U.S. pending home sales data released in the afternoon was disappointing.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.23 percent Monday and finished at 8,202.98. The Swiss Leader Index dropped by 0.21 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.16 percent.

Among the index heavyweights, Novartis declined by 0.5 percent and Nestle lost 0.1 percent. Roche ended the session unchanged.

Watchmaker Swatch fell by 0.8 percent, after a fire destroyed a workshop at one of its parts-making subsidiaries in Grenchen. CEO Nick Hayek estimated the damage at 5 to 10 million CHF.

Straumann increased by 1.2 percent. CEO Marco Gadola announced price reductions for dental implants over the weekend, which should boost revenues.