Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Save for a few minutes early on in the session, the Switzerland market languished in negative territory on Tuesday as uncertainty about the outlook for Fed interest rates weighed on sentiment.

Data showing an unexpected drop in Swiss retail sales in the month of February weighed as well.

The benchmark SMI ended the day's session with a loss of 135.43 points or 1.15% at 11,595.00.

Givaudan, up 0.17%, was the only stock from the SMI index to close in positive territory today. UBS Group settled with a slender loss.

Partners Group, Sonova and Sika ended lower by 2.4 to 2.8%. Geberit and Novartis ended down by 2.03% and 1.91%, respectively.

Holcim, Swisscom, Lonza Group, Roche Holding, Nestle, Richemont and Alcon lost 0.8 to 1.5%.

In the Mid Price Index, Meyer Burger Tech tanked 17.2%. ams OSRAM AG, Belimo Holding and Adecco lost 3.4 to 3.9%. Avolta, Straumann Holding, Lindt & Spruengli, BKW, Swatch Group and Sandoz shed 2 to 3%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's retail sales decreased unexpectedly in February after recovering in the previous month.

Retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell a working-day adjusted 0.2% year-on-year in February, reversing a 0.3% rise in January. Meanwhile, economists had expected a 0.4% increase.

On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in February versus a 0.7% increase a month ago.

In nominal terms, retail sales fell 0.4% annually and declined 0.2% monthly in February.