BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in the red, following the strong gains of the previous day. Renewed concerns over a potential trade war between the U.S. and China weighed on investor sentiment at the end of the week. The weaker than expected U.S. employment report for March also added to the negative mood.
President Donald Trump has threatened China with $100 billion of additional tariffs. In response, the Chinese Commerce Ministry declared it would 'not hesitate' to retaliate to new tariffs 'at any cost.'
The U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 103,000 jobs in March after spiking by an upwardly revised 326,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 193,000 jobs.
The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.82 percent Friday and finished at 8,671.04. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.83 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.35 percent.
Zurich Insurance weakened by 4.2 percent, Swisscom sank 4.7 percent and Geberit fell 2.6 percent after the stocks began trading on an ex-dividend basis.
Sika, ABB and Schindler surrendered 1.4 percent each. Credit Suisse declined 1.2 percent and UBS lost 0.9 percent.
Among the index heavyweights, Roche fell 0.6 percent and Novartis dropped 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, Nestlé gained 0.5 percent.
Dufry was among the top performing stocks Friday with an increase of 3.1 percent.
Vifor Pharma climbed 1.8 percent, Givaudan rose 0.5 percent and Sonova added 0.4 percent. Swiss Life advanced 0.6 percent and Baloise increased 0.5 percent and Swiss Re added 0.1 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX