Swiss Stocks Withstand Global Headwinds

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks were flat Monday, with luxury goods makers turning in a poor performance amid jitters about the European economy.

The Swiss Market Index rose 0.03 percent to 8,776.73, staying near its highest in six years.

Richemont lost 1.7 percent and Swatch fell 2 percent.

UBS was moderately higher. The Swiss banking giant announced the launch of a share-for-share exchange offer to establish a group holding company, UBS Group AG.

Nestle said it named Americas head Chris Johnson, as Executive Vice President, Nestle Business Excellence. Laurent Freixe, currently European boss, will succeed Johnson as head of Americas. Shares were flat.

Novartis was up 0.9 percent on positive news from Madrid at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress.