Swiss Stocks Settle Lower On Economic Jitters

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks fell Friday amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook. Tensions between Russia and the West as well as anxiety over Scotland's referendum continued to weigh on sentiment.

The Swiss Market Index slipped 0.37 percent to 8,796.93. Although the SMI was flat this week, Swiss stocks managed to outperform most European markets.

Banking major Julius Baer said it will sponsor the world's first all-electric car racing series. Shares were down fractionally.

Hedge fund Gottex said its first-half net loss widened to $6.2 million. The stock dropped 9.3 percent.

Novartis is contributing $20 million to build a new, 30,000-square-foot research center at Penn University. Shares fell 0.6 percent after recent gains.

UBS was up 0.43 percent, while Transocean dropped 2.8 percent and Holcim fell 1.6 percent.