The Swiss Stock Market Pulled Back On Trade War Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week with a loss. However, the market did manage to pare some of its losses late in the afternoon.

Concerns over global trade continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports to the U.S. and a matching $34 billion worth of U.S. exports to China are due to take effect on July 6th.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.93 percent Monday and finished at 8,529.59. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.06 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.86 percent.

Nestle rose 0.7 percent after U.S. activist investor Daniel Loeb ratcheted up pressure on the Swiss food giant to raise its financial returns and sell its stake in L'Oréal SA.

The rest of the index heavyweights finished in the red Monday. Novartis dropped 2 percent and Roche slipped 0.7 percent.

Cement giant LafargeHolcim declined 1.8 percent. The company said it has terminated the liquidity enhancement agreement with Exane S.A. for its listing on Euronext Paris as of June 30, 2018.

Sika was among the weakest performing stocks of the session, falling 2.4 percent.

Julius Baer surrendered 1.9 percent. UBS dropped 1.5 percent and Credit Suisse lost 1 percent.

Swatch Group finished lower by 1.7 percent and rival Richemont weakened by 1.4 percent.