BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - While the rest of the European markets ended Wednesday's session in positive territory, the Swiss stock market finished with a small loss. The weak performance of index heavyweights Novartis and Nestlé weighed on the overall market. Meanwhile, bank stocks were among the best performers.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.17 percent Wednesday and finished at 9,098.58. The Swiss Leader Index advanced 0.08 percent, while the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.21 percent.
Nestlé and Novartis finished with losses of 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Nestlé had turned in a solid performance yesterday, following the food giant's investor day.
Aryzta dropped 2.2 percent, adding to the heavy losses of the previous session. Lonza also declined 1.4 percent after an investor presentation by CEO Richard Ridinger. Sonova weakened by 0.6 percent and Sika slid 0.4 percent.
Credit Suisse and UBS each gained 1.3 percent and Julius Baer added 0.6 percent. The bank stocks were in demand following the hawkish comments made by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen late Tuesday.
Swiss Re and Swiss Life advanced 1.2 percent each and Zurich climbed 0.8 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX