The Swiss Stock Market Fell Below 8,100 Points

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session solidly in the red, extending the weakness from the previous trading session. The mood among investors was described as tense, after yesterday's launch of corporate bond purchases by the European Central Bank was unable to drive markets higher.

The uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.K. referendum also continues to weigh on investor sentiment. The issue of whether the U.K. will remain a member of the European Union remains too close to call and investors are worried that a "Brexit" could lead to further exits from the EU.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.83 percent Thursday and finished at 8,076.35. The intraday low was 8,057 points. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.06 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.78 percent.

The largest decliner Thursday was Credit Suisse, with a loss of 2.7 percent. Barclays downgraded its rating on the bank to "Equal weight" from "Overweight." Shares of UBS also fell 2.1 percent.

Zurich Insurance declined 1.6 percent and Swiss Life forfeited 1.4 percent, a day after insurance stocks were among the weakest performing stocks.

Cyclical stocks were also under pressure today. Dufry decreased 1.6 percent, Richemont weakened by 1.5 percent and LafargeHolcim surrendered 2.6 percent. Lonza fell 1.6 percent after Baader Helvea downgraded its rating on the stock to "Sell" from "Hold."

The index heavyweights all finished in the red Thursday. Nestle and Novartis both weakened by 0.5 percent, while Roche fell 0.4 percent.