BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland market ended notably lower on Thursday due to sustained selling at several counters amid concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth. Data showing an increase in Swiss unemployment weighed as well.
The benchmark SMI ended down 144.83 points or 1.19% at 12,031.34, the day's low.
VAT Group dropped nearly 4%. Kuehne + Nagel ended down 3.1%. Straumann Holding, Givaudan, Novartis, ABB, Roche Holding, Richemont and Sika closed lower by 1.4 to 2.5%.
Nestle, Lonza Group, Geberit, Lindt & Spruengli, Roche GS, UBS Group, Logitech International, Swatch Group, SGS and Alcon also ended notably lower.
Sonova climbed about 1.15%. Swisscom and Swiss Life Holding gained 0.92% and 0.87%, respectively. Julius Baer, Swiss Re and Sandoz Group posted modest gains.
On the economic front, Switzerland's unemployment rate increased slightly in August after remaining stable in the previous three months, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said.
The unadjusted unemployment rate came in at 2.4% in August, up from 2.3% in July. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2%.
The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, rose to 2.7% from 2.2% in July. Data also showed that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 2.5%.
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