The Swiss Stock Market Sank Further After Yesterday's SNB Decision

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market extended the sharp declines of the previous session on Friday, following yesterday's announcement from the Swiss National Bank. The market bucked the overall trend in Europe, where most markets finished in the green Volatility remained high, with the VSMI increasing by 28 percent.

The Swiss market received some support from positive U.S. economic data. U.S. consumer prices for December logged their biggest decrease in six years and the preliminary read on consumer sentiment for January rose to its highest level since January 2004.

The Swiss National Bank shocked the markets Thursday after it abandoned its currency "ceiling" of CHF 1.2 per euro as it considers it "no longer justified" in the new situation. The bank also lowered interest rates further into negative territory to make sure that the termination of the "minimum exchange rate does not lead to an inappropriate tightening of monetary conditions."

The Swiss Market Index dropped by 5.96 percent on Friday and finished at 7,899.59. The market hit an intraday low of 7,852.83, its lowest level in 13 months. The Swiss Leader Index dropped by 5.98 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 5.80 percent.

Bank stocks posted some of the largest declines during Friday's session. Julius Baer plunged by 15 percent, while Credit Suisse dropped by 9.2 percent. UBS also fell by 6.2 percent.

Swatch dropped by 7.1 percent, after Societe Generale cut its rating to "Sell" from "Hold." Richemont also fell by 6.7 percent.

Clariant declined by 5.9 percent and Syngenta lost 7.1 percent. Among the cyclicals, Lonza was the largest decliner, falling by 8.4 percent. Geberit decreased by 8.3 percent and Actelion dropped by 6.6 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished solidly in the red. Roche sank by 4.8 percent and Novartis by 5.5 percent. Nestle also finished with a loss of 6.8 percent.