Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended notably lower on Thursday, weighed down by comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde that the euro zone faced an "unprecedented contraction" this year.

Investors were also digesting Switzerland's consumer prices data that showed prices declined the most in about four-and-a-half years.

The benchmark SMI ended lower by 108.09 points or 1.06% at 10,075.68.

Roche Holding shares declined 2.2%. The company announced that it has received emergency use authorisation from USFDA for its Elecsys IL-6 test. The test is to help identify severe inflammatory response in patients with confirmed COVID-19.

Lonza Group shed nearly 2%, while UBS Group, Alcon, Swatch Group, SGS, Credit Suisse and Nestle lost 1 to 1.6%.

Novartis ended moderately lower. The drugmaker said new data from a phase III trial of its drug Cosentyx provided relief for axial spondyloarthritis.

Swiss Re and Swisscom posted modest gains.

In the midcap section, Julius Baer ended lower by about 2.8%. Ems Chemie Holding, VAT Group, Lindt & Sp Ps and Straumann Holding lost 1.5 to 2%.

On the other hand, Dufry rallied nearly 3.5%, rebounding from recent losses. Sunrise Communications climbed up 2.8%, while Logitech and OC Oerlikon Corp both moved up by about 1.4%.

According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland's consumer price index decreased 1.3% year-on-year in May, following a 1.1% fall in April. The latest decline was the worst since January 2016, when prices fell 1.3%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged in May, after a 0.4% fall in the previous month. Economists had expected a 0.1% rise.

The monthly stability was driven by a rise in prices for housing rental, international package holidays, and stone fruits, while fuel prices and hotel accommodation decreased, the agency reported.

The core CPI fell 0.6% annually in May and rose 0.1% from the previous month.

The EU measure of harmonized index of consumer prices fell 0.2% monthly in May and declined 1% from the previous year.