Swiss Shares Slide Along With European Markets

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks fell on Friday, with weakness seen among bank and health care stocks.

Developments in the Ukraine spooked markets around Europe, as Russia vowed to cut of gas supplies to its neighbor.

Russia invaded Ukraine's Crimea region last weekend, and has occupied the vital shipping region since.

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) lost 1.25 percent to 8,378, down about 1 percent for the week.

The broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) lost 1.15 percent 8,125 today. Of the 30 stocks measured, 28 went in the red.

UBS was cleared by Italian court of overseeing fraud by their bankers in the sale of derivatives to the city of Milan.

The bank has hired Doug Simons and Tannon Krumpelman as managing directors. UBS shares were down 1 percent, and Credit Suisse lost 0.88 percent.

Novartis said on Friday a final stage test of a rare blood cancer drug had met its primary endpoint. Still, shares were down 2 percent.

Roche also fell after saying it is cleared to market a syphilis test.

Shares of Zehnder dropped nearly 5 percent on disappointing earnings.