The Swiss Stock Market Wraps Up Week Of Losses Friday

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market extended its losing streak to a fifth consecutive session on Friday. There was little news to drive the direction of trading at the end of the week. Investors concerns over when the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its stimulus measures persisted and will likely continue to do so until the Fed concludes its policy meeting on Wednesday next week.

The Swiss stock market has been falling since around the middle of November and has lost over 500 points during that time. Over the course of the negative move, the SMI also dropped below the 8,000 point level. The market had dropped by nearly 2.5 percent in the previous trading week and fell by another 2.9 percent this week.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.26 percent Friday and finished at 7,828.91. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.01 percent, but the Swiss Performance Index fell by 0.24 percent.

The weak performance of the index heavyweights pressured the overall market again Friday. Nestle dropped by 1.1 percent and Roche fell by 0.8 percent. Shares of Novartis fared better, with a decrease of 0.1 percent. Jefferies maintained its "Buy" rating on shares of Roche, but lowered its price target on the pharma giant.

Dufry rose by 2.0 percent on Friday. The company extended gains from the prior session, when the company announced the acquisition of Hellenic Duty Free. Syngenta increased by 1.8 percent, after Bank Vontobel maintained its "Buy" rating on the stock.