The Swiss Stock Market Finished Significantly Lower Friday

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a significant loss. The correction began on Wednesday and Friday's decline also saw increased volatility. The market got off to a weak start Friday and continued to decline for the majority of the session.

Investor sentiment was impacted by the intensification of currency turmoil in some emerging markets. The currencies of Argentina and Turkey continued their free fall. Concerns over the slowing growth in China also persisted, following Thursday's weaker than expected manufacturing data.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 2.42 percent Friday and finished at 8,201.50. The SMI finished the trading week with an overall loss of 3.3 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped by 2.41 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index fell by 2.36 percent.

Syngenta dropped by 4.7 percent, after two grain groups asked the crop chemicals firm to halt sale of two genetically modified corn seeds in the U.S. that are banned in China.

Novartis decreased by 3.0 percent. The drug-maker said after receiving a negative opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, it would shortly submit a revised filing package for re-examination for conditional approval of serelaxin for acute heart failure. Roche also dropped by 2.0 percent and Nestle fell by 2.1 percent.

Financial stocks also turned in a weak performance Friday. Credit Suisse declined by 3.0 percent and UBS lost 2.5 percent. Julius Baer also finished lower by 1.8 percent.