The Swiss Stock Market Ended With A Significant Loss

(RTTNews) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session with a substantial decline. After a positive start, the market began to pare its early gains and quickly slipped into negative territory. The losses accelerated in the afternoon, following the weak opening on Wall Street.

The weak performance of the index heavyweights pressured the overall market. Cyclicals were also weak, but financials turned in a solid performance due to the results of the U.S. stress tests.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 1.46 percent Thursday and finished at 8,944.04. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.05 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.39 percent.

Lindt & Sprüngli was among the weakest performing stocks of the session, falling 2.4 percent. Shares of the chocolate manufacturer have been under pressure for about a week now.

LafargeHolcim weakened by 2.4 percent after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."

Vifor Pharma dropped 2.4 percent, Sonova surrendered 1.9 percent and Schindler lost 1.7 percent. Swatch and Richemont also declined by 1.8 percent each.

Nestlé was the weakest among the index heavyweights, dropping 2.1 percent. Novartis declined 1.9 percent and Roche fell 1.7 percent.

Credit Suisse climbed 2.0 percent and UBS added 0.4 percent.

Partners Group increased 1.0 percent after Baader Helvea upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Hold."