Swiss Market Ends On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - After opening on a positive note Wednesday morning, the Swiss market pared gains and moved along the flat line till a little past mid-afternoon before losing further ground as the mood turned quite cautious amid concerns about inflation and growth as oil prices climbed higher.

Data showing a sharp drop in Swiss investor sentiment in the month of September weighed as well.

oil prices surged amid lingering uncertainty about Iran and the U.S. reaching a deal to end their conflict and pave the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures moved to around $99.00 a barrel, gaining more than 3%.

The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 13,973.25 in early trades, ended the day with a loss of 81.85 points or 0.59% at 13,830.34, the day's low.

Julius Baer ended down 3.2%. Holcim and Kuehne + Nagel ended 2.4% down from their previous closing levels. Swiss Life Holding, ABB, Sandoz Group, Lonza Group, Swiss Re, Helvetia Baloise Holding and Schindler Ps settled lower by 1.3%-1.7%.

Zurich Insurance, Geberit, Givaudan, Novartis, Alcon, Sika, UBS Group and Straumann Holding also closed weak.

Partners Group and Richemont both ended higher by nearly 1.5%. SGS moved up by a little over 1%. Logitech International climbed 0.7%, while Amrize and Lindt & Spruengli posted modest gains.

Swiss investor sentiment weakened sharply in September, with the UBS-CFA Society Switzerland indicator falling 9.5 points to 2.6, its lowest level in three months.