The Swiss Stock Market Dropped Amidst Global Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week in the red. The market got off to a weak start and never managed to recover, finishing right around the 8,000 point level. The early struggles on Wall Street pushed the Swiss market lowered going into the close.

A number of factors contributed to Monday's weak performance. Investors remain nervous ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, as well as the uncertain outlook for U.S. interest rates. Closer to home, the European Central Bank will announce its policy decision later this week.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 1.10 percent Monday and finished at 8,000.96. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.03 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.06 percent.

The luxury goods companies were among the hardest hit Monday. After their strong performance last week, profit taking was to be expected. Richemont dropped 3.5 percent and Swatch weakened by 3.4 percent.

Among the cyclicals, Dufry surrendered 2.9 percent and Aryzta fell 2.2 percent.

The index heavyweights all ended the session solidly in the red. Roche declined 1.3 percent and Novartis lost 1.2 percent. Shares of Nestlé also decreased 1.1 percent.

The rest of the health sector was also under pressure. Galenica forfeited 1.2 percent, Actelion slipped 0.8 percent and Sonova fell 1.0 percent.

The big banks extended last week's downward trend. UBS weakened by 1.0 percent and Credit Suisse declined 0.8 percent. German lender Deutsche Bank is reportedly considering options such as scaling back U.S. operations as part of a wider overhaul to lower costs.

Syngenta dipped 0.4 percent. Investors are concerned that the planned merger between ChemChina and Sinochem could delay ChemChina's acquisition of Syngenta.