BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended weak on Tuesday after spending the entire session in the red, as investors stayed cautious and refrained from any significant buying, looking for direction after three successive days of gains.
The benchmark SMI ended down 69.90 points or 0.68% at 10,233.16, around 35 points off the day's low of 10,197.47.
The index had ended the previous three sessions on a positive note, gaining about 1.13%.
Givaudan and Lonza Group declined 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Nestle, Novartis and SGS ended lower by 1.1 to 1.4%.
Bank stocks moved higher. UBS Group surged up 1.8% and Credit Suisse gained about 1.6%, while Julius Baer advanced 0.5%.
LafargeHolcim, Swiss Life Holding, Swatch Group and Swiss Re ended higher by 1 to 1.4%.
In the midcap section, shares of technology accessories maker Logitech tumbled more than 5% on a Bloomberg report that Apple had stopped selling headphones and wireless speakers from rivals.
Schindler Ps and Schindler Holding lost 3.2% and 3%, respectively.
Sonova, Kuehne & Nagel, Barry Callebaut, Dufry and VAT Group ended lower by 1.5 to 1.75%.
On the other hand, Flughafen Zurich moved up 2.1% and Helvetia gained nearly 2%. Adecco gained 1.5%, while Baloise Holding and OC Oerlikon Corp both ended higher by about 1.5%.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX