BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session with a small loss. The market rose above the 9,400 point level for the first time in two years this morning, but pulled back in the afternoon as shares of index heavyweight Nestlé weakened.
Central banks were in focus Thursday, as investors had their first opportunity to react to yesterday's rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank all decided to leave their respective interest rates unchanged today.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.12 percent Thursday and finished at 9,383.02. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.03 percent, but the Swiss Performance Index declined 0.09 percent.
Swatch Group was among the top performing stocks of the session, with an increase of 2.6 percent. Barclays upgraded its rating on the stock to 'Overweight' from 'Underweight.' Shares of competitor Richemont advanced 0.2 percent.
Swiss Life and Swiss Re climbed by 1.1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively and Julius Baer gained 1.5 percent. UBS gained 0.4 percent, while Credit Suisse fell 0.4 percent.
The weak performance of Nestlé weighed on the overall market. The stock weakened by 0.9 percent. Novartis and Roche ended the day unchanged.
LafargeHolcim dropped 0.8 percent after the expansion in Africa was put on hold by the acquisition of Pretoria Portland Cement. Givaudan also fell 1.5 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX