Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended notably lower on Wednesday after staying well below the unchanged line right through the day's trading session.

Amid concerns about growth and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement due later in the day, stocks struggled for support.

Data showing Swiss retail sales decreased for the sixth straight month in December hurt sentiment.

The benchmark SMI ended down 109.75 points or 0.96% at 11,333.38.

Novartis ended down 3.45% and Holcim drifted down nearly 2.5%. Lonza Group and ABB ended lower by 1.8% and 1.66%, respectively.

Geberit weakened by 1.3%, and Richemont lost 1.11%. Sonova, Nestle, Givaudan and Logitech International also closed weak.

Roche Holding, Swiss Life Holding, Zurich Insurance Group and Sika edged down marginally.

In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech tanked 17.2%. ams OSRAM AG ended nearly 5% down. Georg Fischer and SIG Combibloc both ended nearly 2.5% down.

Straumann Holding, Lindt & Spruengli, Barry Callebaut, Julius Baer, Flughafen Zurich and VAT Group lost 0.8 to 1.6%.

Sandoz climbed 2.65%. Adecco gained 1%, while BKW and Helvetia both advanced nearly 0.75%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell a working-day adjusted 0.8% year-on-year in December, reversing a revised 1.5% drop in November.

On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in December versus a 0.2% rebound a month ago.

In nominal terms, retail sales rose 0.1% annually while declining 0.6% monthly in December.

During the whole year 2023, total retail sales in real terms were 2% lower compared to 2022.