Swiss Market Closes On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a weak note on Tuesday, bucking the trend seen across European markets, as investors chose to take some profits after recent strong gains.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which rose to 12,979.76 at the start, ended the session with a loss of 38.20 points or 0.3% at 12,900.97. The index had hit a fresh record high of 12,997.15 on Monday.

Lonza Group declined 3.76%. Geberit, Roche Holding and Partners Group lost 1.9 to 2.2%. Alcon declined by about 1%, while Alcon, Givaudan, Sika and Swisscom ended lower by 0.6 to 0.8%.

UBS Group climbed nearly 2.5%. Holcim gained 2.2%, while Swiss Life Holding, Credit Suisse and Swiss Re moved up 1.1 to 1.5%. Richemont, ABB and Zurich Insurance Group gained nearly 1%.

Novartis edged up marginally. The pharmaceutical firm said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued its decision upholding the validity of the US patent covering a dosing regimen for Gilenya.

Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, Tecan Group ended 4.4% down. Zur Rose shed nearly 3%, BB Biotech lost 2.88% and Schindler Ps drifted down 2%. Schindler Holding and Straumann Holding both ended lower by nearly 2%.

Swatch Group surged up 3.85%. Helvetia moved up 2.65% and Georg Fischer gained 2.4%. Flughafen Zurich, OC Oerlikon Corp and Baloise Holding gained 2.1%, 1.8%, and 1.6%, respectively. Adecco gained 1.2%.

Julius Baer gained 0.55%. The Swiss private bank is parting ways with an independent wealth manager it bought five years ago.

Switzerland reportedly continues to have one of the highest infection rates in Europe. "The spread of Omicron continues to advance rapidly," said Patrick Mathys of the Federal Office of Public Health on January 4. About two-thirds of the new cases are the new Omicron variant.