The Swiss Stock Market Fell Friday, But Finished The Week Higher

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a loss, but finished the trading week with a significant increase. After beginning the session in the green, the market quickly slipped into negative territory and then settled into a sideways trend in the afternoon.

The pullback was partly due to profit taking, following the strong rally that followed the shocking upset victory by Donald Trump in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. The U.S. markets are also giving back some ground at the end of the trading week.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.61 percent Friday and finished at 7,880.29. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 3.8 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.53 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.68 percent.

LafargeHolcim was among the weakest performing stocks Friday, with a loss of 3.6 percent. The cement company was up sharply earlier in the week on hopes that a Trump presidency would result in infrastructure improvements in the U.S.

Sika was also among the losers, with a decline of 2.4 percent. Dufry weakened by 1.9 percent and Schindler surrendered 1.5 percent. Lonza forfeited 1.4 percent and Kuehne + Nagel lost 1.6 percent.

The pharmaceutical heavyweights were also under pressure at the end of the week. Roche and Novartis both decreased by 1.1 percent each.

The financial stocks turned in a mixed performance, with insurance stocks falling and bank stocks climbing. Swiss Life dropped 1.4 percent and Swiss Re fell 1.2 percent. Bâloise also slipped 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse advanced 1.5 percent and UBS gained 1.1 percent.

Swatch was also among the gainers, with an increase of 1.2 percent. Actelion rose 0.7 percent and Sonova added 0.5 percent.

In the broad market, Zehnder plunged 15.3 percent after a profit warning.