BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland market ended sharply lower on Tuesday, as stocks tumbled past noon despite seeing a fairly good spell in positive territory around mid morning.
Worries about U.S.-Iran conflict and the likely impact of an escalation in the war rendered the mood bearish, prompting investors to exit several counters.
The mood was cautious ahead of the expiration of U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
'Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!' the U.S. President said in his Truth Social post. During a news conference on Monday, shortly after Iran rejected his proposal of a 45-day ceasefire, Trump threatened 'complete demolition' of Iranian infrastructure.
Iranian state-run media quoted the regime as saying that it is not willing to accept anything short of a permanent end to the Middle East war, which so far claimed more than 3,500 lives, including at least 1,665 civilians.
The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 13,067.27 after a sluggish start, ended the session with a loss of 191.62 points or 1.48% at 12,790.35, slightly off the day's low of 12,780.57.
Straumann Holding ended down 4%. Novartis, Holcim, Galderma Group, Kuehne + Nagel, Lindt & Spruengli, Partners Group, Julius Baer, Roche Holding and Sonova lost 2%-2.8%.
Sika, Amrize, Lonza Group, SGS, Richemont, Alcon and VAT Group settled lower by 1.6%-2%. ABB, Sandoz Group, Geberit, UBS Group and Zurich Insurance also ended notably lower.
Data from Swiss National Bank showed foreign exchange reserves in Switzerland increased to CHF 721.22 billion in March from CHF 710.1 billion in February.
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