BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended on a weak note on Wednesday, extending recent losses, amid worries about a likely slowdown in global economic recovery due to the spread of the Delta variant of coronvirus.
The benchmark SMI, which stayed in negative territory right through the session, ended with a loss of 129.24 points or 1.05% at 12,215.14, nearly 60 points off the day's low of 12,155.63.
Partners Group shares shed about 2.8%. Holcim ended lower by 2.3%, while Novartis and Sika lost 1.76% and 1.55%, respectively.
ABB, Credit Suisse, Roche Holding, Geberit, Swiss Life Holding, Alcon, Swatch Group, UBS Group, SGS and Nestle lost 0.7 to 1.2%.
Among the stocks in the Mid Price Index, AMS declined 4.7%, Swiss Prime Site shed 3.7%, VAT Group ended 3.3% down and Logitech lost about 3.1%.
SIG Combibloc, Temenos Group, Schindler Ps, Cembra Money Bank, Schindler Holding and Georg Fischer also declined sharply, while Recruitment company Adecco Group AG declined 0.7%, a day after it announced the acquisition of QAPA.
Flughafen Zurich moved up by about 2%.
In coronavirus news, Switzerland is being hit by a fourth wave of the infection, according to reports. Virginie Masserey, a top official at the Federal Office of Public Health, said on Tuesday that the virus situation in Switzerland remains tense.
The number of new cases has stagnated at a high level, and Switzerland now has the highest incidence rate in Europe, after Britain, with 402 new infections per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2021 AFX News
