BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended notably lower on Monday, in line with other major markets in Europe, on concerns over geopolitical tensions in North East Asia and the Middle East.
Traders were also reluctant to create fresh positions ahead of the upcoming New Year holiday, and instead, looked keen on taking some profits.
The benchmark SMI ended down 113.21 points, or 1.06%, at 10,616.94.
On Friday, the index closed with a small gain of 8.51 points at 10,730.15, after hitting a new all-time high at 10,755.68.
Alcon, Nestle, Geberit, Novartis, ABB and Sika lost 1.2 to 2%. Roche Holding, Givaudan, Zurich Insurance Group, Adecco and Lonza Group declined 0.8 to 1%.
SGS, Richemont, Swisscom and Swatch Group also ended weak.
UBS Group shares edged up marginally. The bank is seeking to increase the credit quota within its wealth management business to about 15% from 7%, according to a report in SonntagsZeitung. The move is likely to boost the bank's lending to its wealthiest customers by around 200 billion Swiss francs.
In the midcap section, AMS declined more than 2.5%. Dufry, Vifor Pharma, Schindler Holding, Helvetia, PSP Swiss Property, Ems Chemie Holding and Straumann Holding shed 1.3 to 2%. Lindt & Spruengli and Julius Baer closed with modest gains.
On the economic front, a report from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said Switzerland's economic outlook is set to brighten at the start of next year.
The KOF Economic Barometer rose to 96.4 from 92.6 in November, which was revised from 93, survey data from the think tank showed. Economists had expected a score of 94.5. In October, the reading was 94.8.
The barometer that tended to fall during the year, has thus fully recovered, the KOF said.
December's distinct increase was primarily due to bundles of indicators from the manufacturing sector, while positive signals also came from measures covering other services and foreign demand, the survey found.
Further, indicators concerning private consumption as well as hotel and catering activities revealed a moderate increase.
Among the other major markets in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.76%, Germany's DAX declined 0.66% and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.91%. The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.85%.
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