BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended the first day of the new trading week with a small loss. The pullback was largely due to the weak performance of the pharmaceutical heavyweights. Trading activity was rather subdued due to the trading holiday in the United States.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.10 percent Monday and finished at 9,537.28. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.02 percent, but the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.03 percent.
Roche dropped 0.6 percent and Novartis fell 0.4 percent. Roche was under pressure after Societe Generale rated the stock a 'Sell.' Meanwhile, the third index heavyweight, Nestle, finished with a gain of 0.5 percent.
Partners Group was among the top performing stocks of the session, with an increase of 1.7 percent.
Julius Baer climbed 1.4 percent and Credit Suisse added 0.5 percent.
Aryzta advanced 1.3 percent, Clariant gained 0.9 percent and Dufry added 0.8 percent.
In the broad market, shares of food companies Bell and Hügli were in focus. Meat processor Bell rallied 5.9 percent after it announced that it will take over the majority stake in Hügli in Eastern Switzerland and plans to acquire the entire company. Hügli surged 13.2 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX