BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session in the red. The market got off to a positive start and set a new intraday high for the year in early trade. However, the market slipped into negative territory in the afternoon and remained there for the rest of the day.
Traders turned a bit more cautious Tuesday, as they await the outcome of the U.S. vote on the Republican tax reform bill. Investors were also disappointed by the release of the weaker than expected German business sentiment report.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.56 percent Tuesday and finished at 9,399.17. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.55 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.44 percent.
Among the weakest performing stocks of the session were Lonza, which fell 1.7 percent and Richemont, which weakened by 1.6 percent. Shares of Swatch also surrendered 0.3 percent.
Vifor Pharma dropped 1.9 percent, Kuehne + Nagel declined 0.9 percent and Sika lost 1.6 percent.
Among the financials, Swiss Re decreased 1.3 percent and Zurich Insurance forfeited 1.2 percent. Credit Suisse fell 0.4 percent and UBS slid 0.2 percent.
The weak performance of the index heavyweights weighed on the overall market Tuesday. Nestlé dropped 0.7 percent, Novartis lost 0.4 percent and Roche fell 0.5 percent.
Dufry climbed 1.6 percent and Givaudan gained 0.7 percent. Specialty chemicals company Clariant got off to a positive start Tuesday, but finished with a loss of 0.3 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX