BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market traded in the green well into the afternoon Wednesday and reached a new intraday high for the year. However, a late sell-off pulled the market into negative territory and it finished the day with a modest loss. The solid performance by index heavyweight Roche helped to prevent a larger loss.
The weak opening on Wall Street appears to have contributed to the late pullback in Europe. Trading volume in the U.S. is on the light side ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.35 percent Wednesday and finished at 9,291.84. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.54 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.39 percent.
Index heavyweight Roche climbed 1.2 percent. Baader Helvea and Liberum upgraded their ratings on the stock to 'Buy.'
Givaudan was the biggest loser of the session, falling 2.4 percent. Logitech dropped 2.1 percent and Schindler surrendered 1.5 percent. ABB weakened by 1.4 percent and Lonza fell 1.2 percent. Clariant declined 1.2 percent and Sika lost 1.1 percent.
Sonova decreased 0.8 percent after Commerzbank downgraded its rating on the stock.
Swisscom gained 0.2 percent. The Federal Council has set the strategic goals for the telecom provider for the years 2018 to 2021.
Dufry climbed 0.5 percent and Aryzta added 0.3 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX