The Swiss Stock Market Pulled Back After Six Days Of Gains

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a modest loss. The negative performance was attributed to profit taking after six consecutive days of gains. The weak performance of index heavyweight Novartis also helped to drag the market lower.

The situation in Greece continued to weigh on investors and put them in a cautious mood at the end of the trading week. Investors are eagerly anticipating any news that will come from today's meeting of Euro zone finance ministers. Germany, Portugal and Finland all rejected Greece's request for a loan extension for up to six months yesterday.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.09 percent Friday and finished at 8,892.17. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall gain of 2.8 percent. The Swiss Leader Index rose by 0.02 percent Friday, but the Swiss Performance Index fell by 0.08 percent.

Novartis dropped by 1.0 percent Friday. Jefferies confirmed its "Buy" rating on the stock and raised its price target. Shares of Nestle also dipped by 0.1 percent. The stock was up over 1 percent yesterday, following its full year earnings report. Roche ended Friday's session with a gain of 0.9 percent. Jefferies also confirmed its "Buy" rating on shares of Roche and increased its price target.

Zurich Insurance dropped by 1.4 percent after it was downgraded to "Sell" from "Hold." Transocean declined by 1.8 percent and Julius Baer fell by 1.2 percent. Swatch decreased by 0.9 percent, Baloise lost 0.5 percent and Aryzta finished down by 0.5 percent.

Credit Suisse increased by 1.8 percent, while UBS added 0.2 percent. SGS, Galenica and Adecco all finished with gains of 1.1 percent.