The Swiss Stock Market Dropped On Bank Weakness

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week with a substantial loss. Weak cues from overseas markets weighed on the market, as well as continued profit taking after last week's Fed announcement sparked a rally.

Despite the announcements from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan last week, the level of uncertainty surrounding global monetary policy remains high. Investors were also in a cautious mood ahead of the first U.S. Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton later today. On the positive side, German business sentiment improved strongly to its highest level in more than two years in September.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 1.30 percent Monday and finished at 8,165.05. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.35 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.19 percent.

The financial sector turned in another weak performance Monday. UBS declined 2.8 percent and Credit Suisse fell 2.5 percent. The banks were under pressure due to concerns over Deutsche Bank. German magazine Focus reported Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out any state aid for the bank.

Julius Baer also weakened by 2.1 percent. Swiss Life surrendered 1.8 percent and Zurich Insurance forfeited 1.7 percent.

Aryzta decreased 2.0 percent. The bakery group reported a 5.7 percent drop in full-year earnings.

LafargeHolcim dropped 2.2 percent. However, the cement company gained over 7 percent last week. Shares of Sonova also slipped 1.8 percent Monday.

The index heavyweights all finished solidly in negative territory. Novartis declined 1.5 percent and Roche lost 1.4 percent. Shares of Nestle also closed down by 0.9 percent.

Adecco dipped 0.4 percent. The stock fared better due to an upgrade at RBC to "Outperform" from "Sector Perform."

In the broad market, INFICON sank 5.9 percent. UBS downgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."