The Swiss Stock Market Finished With A Modest Decrease

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's trading session with a small decline, following the strong gains of the previous day. Markets across Europe were under pressure due to reports that the European Central Bank is considering up to 500 billion euros worth of bond purchases.

The market climbed in the afternoon, after the U.S. jobs report for December showed that employment grew more than expected. However, investors were disappointed by a slowdown in wage growth.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.37 percent Friday and finished at 9,105.70. The market ended a very volatile first week of the new year with a gain of 1.4 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed by 0.32 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index rose by 0.26 percent.

Index heavyweight Roche dropped by 1.4 percent, after it was downgraded to "Neutral" from "Buy" by UBS. Nestle dipped by 0.37 percent, but Novartis finished with a gain of 0.7 percent.

Financial stocks were under pressure on Friday. Credit Suisse dropped by 2.5 percent and UBS fell by 1.8 percent. However, Julius Baer finished with an increase of 0.2 percent.

Zurich Insurance Group decreased by 0.8 percent, after it was downgraded to "Sell" from "Hold" by Societe Generale. Swisscom declined by 0.9 percent and Sonova lost 0.8 percent.

Switzerland's unemployment rate remained stable in December, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said Friday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate came in at 3.2 percent, the same rate as seen in November. It was forecast to rise to 3.4 percent.

Swiss consumer prices turned in the largest decline since October 2013, largely due to lower oil prices, the Federal Statistical Office reported Friday. Consumer prices were down 0.3 percent year-on-year in December, following a 0.1 percent drop in November. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent fall.