The Swiss Stock Market Caps Strong Year With Weak Finish

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the final trading day of 2017 with a small loss, extending the weakness from the previous session. However, despite the weak finish, the market ended the year with a strong gain.

The market was stuck in a sideways trend Friday in rather subdued trading action. The weak performance of the index heavyweights pressured the overall market. The early struggles on Wall Street also contributed to the negative mood in the afternoon.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.25 percent Friday and finished at 9,381.87. The SMI capped off the year with an overall gain of 14 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.27 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.26 percent.

Clariant was among the weakest performing stocks of the day, falling 2.0 percent. Logitech also finished lower by 1.1 percent.

Sika weakened by 1.1 percent, Schindler dropped 0.8 percent and Dufry lost 0.7 percent.

Index heavyweight Roche decreased 0.4 percent. JPMorgan confirmed its "Overweight" rating on the stock and raised its price target. Novartis also fell 0.4 percent and Nestle lost 0.1 percent.

SGS climbed 0.5 percent and Lonza added 0.2 percent.