BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Despite holding in positive territory till well past noon, the Switzerland market ended on a weak note on Friday as stocks fell on a mild bout of selling pressure in the last couple of hours of the day's session.
The mood turned cautious around late afternoon with investors switching their focus to the second round of the French election.
Stocks gained in some strength in early trades after data showed an improvement in Swiss consumer confidence in the month of June.
The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 62.66 points or 0.52% at 12,006.14, more than 100 points down from the day's high of 12,111.63.
Sonova ended 1.89% down. ABB, Logitech International, Givaudan and Kuehne + Nagel dropped 1.3 to 1.6%.
Alcon, Holcim, Swatch Group, Zurich Insurance Group, Lindt & Spruengli, Novartis, Richemont, Geberit, Sika and SGS lost 0.4 to 1%.
Straumann Holding climbed 1.87%. VAT Group and Partners Group both gained nearly 1.5%. Lonza Group, Roche Holdings and SIG Group posted modest gains.
Survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said confidence among Swiss consumers showed some resilience in June, although it remained negative. The consumer confidence index rose to -36.6 from -38.0 in May. The expected score was -35.0.
Further, this was the highest reading since February 2023, when it was -34.80. However, the consumer sentiment index remained below the long-term average. In the corresponding month last year, the reading was -39.6.
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