The Swiss Stock Market Dipped Slightly On Greek Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market traded in the green for much of Friday's session, but finished the day with a slight decline. The dip was attributed to nervousness ahead of what could potentially be an important weekend as the Greek debt situation comes to a head.

Eurozone finance ministers are set to hold an emergency meeting on Monday, after yesterday's meeting failed to yield an agreement. Negotiations and talks between major players in the Greek drama are expected to continue over the weekend and investors will be watching closely for any developments.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.15 percent Friday and finished at 8,867.32. The intraday high was 8,974 points. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall loss of 1.8 percent. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.17 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.08 percent.

Aryzta was among the best performing stocks at the end of the trading week, with an increase of 1.8 percent. The stock has been under heavy pressure of the past few weeks and is attempting to bounce back. Lonza also climbed by 1.4 percent. ABB rose by 1.2 percent after Barclays confirmed its "Overweight" rating and increased its price target on the stock.

Syngenta gained 0.9 percent Friday, as Monsanto continues to pursue a deal with the company. Richemont advanced by 0.6 percent and Swatch added 0.1 percent, following yesterday's weak performance.

Among the financial stocks, UBS gained 0.8 percent and Julius Baer increased by 0.5 percent. Credit Suisse ended the session lower by 0.1 percent. Swiss Life climbed by 1.0 percent, but Zurich Insurance fell by 0.2 percent and Swiss Re lost 0.4 percent.

There was no help to be found from the index heavyweights at the end of the trading week. Novartis dropped by 1.2 percent and Nestle dipped by 0.1 percent. Roche ended the session unchanged.

Sonova declined by 0.5 percent Friday, extending a downward trend that began around the start of June. Transocean weakened by 0.6 percent as crude oil prices pulled back. SGS and Sika both finished lower by 0.3 percent each.

Accu Holding surged by 4.9 percent, after it reiterated its full year forecast. The company also announced a capital increase and other changes in the capital structure.

Burckhardt Compression fell by 1.6 percent after it was downgraded to "Sell" from "Hold" by Helvea-Baader.