BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended marginally down after a lackluster session on Wednesday, snapping a six-day winning streak, as investors reacted to a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports.
The benchmark SMI ended down 7.56 points, or 0.08%, at 9,143.00. On Tuesday, the index ended with a strong gain of 139.08 points, or 1.54%, at 9,150.56.
The Swatch Group declined 1.6% and Richemont ended lower by about 1%. Sonova declined 1.4%, Nestle, Givaudan, Swisscom and Schindler ended marginally lower.
Julius Baer, which ended with a strong gain on Wednesday, edged up by 0.81%. LafargeHolcim, Adecco Group, ABB and UBS Group posted marginal gains.
AMS jumped more than 10% to CHF 27.66 on fairly impressive volumes. Temenos advanced nearly 1.5% and Dufry gained about 1.3%.
After a weak start, Credit Suisse edged higher and settled with a small gain. The bank said its earnings last year will probably be subject to higher taxes than assumed earlier, because of changes in the U.S.
The Swiss bank said it now expects an effective tax rate of about 40% for 2018 because of the impact of the new BEAT, or base erosion and anti-abuse tax. That compares with 36.8% for the first nine months of the year. The expected rate for 2019 will increase as well, to about 30%, Credit Suisse said in a statement on Wednesday.
Although several markets in Europe ended higher, gains were just modest in most of the exchanges. Among the major markets in Europe, Germany ended 0.38% down, while the U.K. and France declined marginally.
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