Swiss Market Ends Flat; Lonza Plunges Sharply

(RTTNews) - After swinging between gains and losses, the Switzerland market ended flat on Friday, as investors were quite reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of triggers.

The benchmark SMI, which climbed to 11,246.30 at the start, ended the session with a small gain of 5.83 points or 0.05% at 11,207.38, about 40 points off the day's low.

Lonza Group shares plunged more than 11% as the contract drug manufacturer lowered its 2023 sales and earnings targets after posting mixed first-half results.

Givaudan ended 2.5% down. Kuehne & Nagel and Sonova lost 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, while Swisscom edged down marginally.

Partners Group and Richemont moved up 1.77% and 1.53%, respectively. Zurich Insurance Group gained 1% and ABB ended nearly 1% up. Swiss Re, Logitech, Nestle, Geberit and UBS Group posted modest gains.

In the Mid Price Index, Georg Fischer, Bachem Holding, SGS and Straumann Holding lost 2 to 3%.

Julius Baer, AMS, Dufry, Lindt & Spruengli, Barry Callebaut, Meyer Burger Tech and SIG Combibloc also ended notably lower.