BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market drifted lower on Thursday, with a sell-off across Europe after the European Union slashed its forecast for Eurozone growth for the current year and 2020.
After a lower opening, the market edged up briefly into positive territory, but faltered swiftly and kept drifting lower and lower as the session progressed.
The benchmark SMI ended down 107.10 points, 1.17%, at 9,035.90.
On Wednesday, the index ended with a loss of 7.56 points, at 9,143.00, snapping a six-day winning streak.
Swisscom ended 4% down despite the company reporting a net income of CHF 1,521 million for 2018. In 2017, the company had posted a net income of CHF 1,568 million.
The Swatch Group shares shed about 3%, LafargeHolcim and Richemont both ended lower by nearly 2.5%, Credit Suisse Group declined 2.3% and UBS Group eased 2%.
ABB, Novartis, Roche and Nestle ended notably lower on fairly huge volumes. Dufry, Georg Fischer and Clariant also declined sharply.
Most of the markets in Europe ended notably lower today, after the European Union lowered its growth outlook for the Euro area for 2019 and 2020. A lower projection for the U.K. economy by the Bank of England and weak economic data from Germany weighed as well.
The pan European Stoxx 600 declined as much as 1.36%. Among the major markets in Europe, Germany plunged sharply, with its benchmark DAX declining 2.52%. France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 1.6% and 1%, respectively.
Italy ended nearly 2.5% down after the European Union slashed Italy growth forecast for 2019 to a five-year low or 0.2%. The EU had earlier predicted a growth of 1.2% for Italy.
The downgrade for the Euro area reflected external factors, such as trade tensions and the slowdown in emerging markets, notably in China. Officials warned that the European outlook faces substantial risks due to the uncertainty about Brexit and the slowdown in China.
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