Swiss Market Ends Slightly Down

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market's benchmark SMI ended marginally down on Tuesday after languishing in negative territory right through the day's session with investors refraining from making significant moves, looking ahead to monetary policy announcements from several top central banks.

A lack of progress in U.S.-Iran peace efforts also rendered the mood cautious.

The SMI, which dropped to 13,009.84 in early trades, rose to 13,161.81 before settling at 13,147.94, down 17.29 points or 0.13%.

Galderma Group dropped about 3.2%. VAT Group, Partners Group and ABB ended lower by 2%, 1.88% and 1.55%, respectively.

Sonova, Lonza Group, Richemont and Lindt & Spruengli lost 1%-1.2%. Sika, Alcon and Amrize also closed weak.

Novartis ended flat. The drugmaker reported first-quarter core earnings per share (excluding one-time charges) of $1.99, which was lower than expected. The figure was also down from $2.28 reported a year ago due to lower core net income.

Logitech International and Kuehne + Nagel moved up 1.73% and 1.53%, respectively. Novartis, Zurich Insurance, Swiss Re, Helvetia Baloise Holding and UBS Group posted modest gains.