Swiss Shares Turn Lower As Banks Struggle

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks eased from record highs on Wednesday, trimming big gains from the previous session amid concerns about the pace of global economic growth.

The World Bank trimmed its global growth forecast to 2.8 percent from an earlier prediction of 3.2 percent, saying developing counties are heading for "disappointing growth."

The Ukraine crisis, financial market turbulence and unusually cold weather in the United States were all blamed for the gloomy outlook.

The Swiss Market Index fell 0.47 percent to 8,712.09, with most big banks coming under pressure.

Julius Baer dropped 2.3 percent and UBS fell 1.6 percent.

Swatch rose 1 percent and cement maker Holcim picked up 0.7 percent.

EFG International said 77-year-old Jean Pierre Cuoni will step down as chairman in 2015. Shares fell 6.5 percent.

Lonza said it will in invest in technology and facility improvements to its Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) clinical manufacturing facility at its Visp site in Switzerland. Shares were down 0.7 percent.