BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market faltered after a positive start on Monday and spent much of the day's session moving along the flat line before closing with a marginal loss.
The mood, despite positive updates on the coronavirus vaccine front, was cautious as the continued surge in new cases of infection weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 10,459.77 in early trades, ended the day with a loss of 18.73 points or 0.18% at 10,373.03. The index touched a low of 10,351.76 in the session.
Swatch Group, Richemont and Alcon gained 1 to 1.15%. Swiss Life Holding, Swiss Re and LafargeHolcim ended higher by about 0.75%.
Partners Group, Nestle and SGS lost 0.8 to 1%. Roche Holding ended nearly 0.5%. Novartis slid 0.37% after the Swiss drug major, along with Incyte Corp., announced that their RUXCOVID Phase III study of ruxolitinib for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 failed to meet primary endpoint.
In the midcap section, BB Biotech gained 2.4% and VAT Group ended stronger by 2%. Georg Fischer, Clariant, Vifor Pharm and Flughafen Zurich moved up by 1 to 1.7%.
On the other hand, Dufry and Temenos Group ended down 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Swiss Prime Site, Lindt & Spruengli, Logitech and PSP Swiss Property lost 0.7 to 0.85%.
According to Swiss health authorities, new cases of coronavirus infections in Switzerland rose by 10,726 since Friday. With this, the total number of confirmed cases in Switzerland and the neighbouring principality Liechtenstein has risen to 384,557, a report from Reuters showed.
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