Swiss Market Ends Marginally Down

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market, which stayed weak save for a few minutes in the final hour of the session, ended marginally down on Thursday, as the mood remained cautious amid renewed concerns about Middle East tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest war threat on Iran.

Trump said U.S. forces will strike Iran extremely hard in the next two to three weeks.

The U.S. President, who did not give a timeline for ending the conflict, offered no plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz but pledged further strikes on energy facilities in the event of Tehran rejecting a deal.

The Swiss benchmark SMI ended with a marginal loss of 9.28 points or 0.07% at 12,981.97. The index touched a low of 12,860.97 and a high of 13,037.78 in the session.

SGS fell nearly 2% and Amrize lost 1.76%. Geberit and VAT Group lost 1.3% and 1.27%, respectively.

Holcim, Julius Baer, ABB and Sika ended lower by 0.6%-0.9%. UBS Group, Lonza Group, Schindler Ps and Partners Group closed with modest losses.

Alcon, Swiss Re, Swiss Life Holding, Givaudan, Staumann Holding and Novartis gained 0.25%-0.4%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's consumer price inflation accelerated less-than-expected in March to the highest level in one year.

The consumer price index rose 0.3% on a yearly basis in March, faster than February's stable increase of 0.1%. Economists had expected a 0.5% increase. Moreover, a similar inflation rate was last seen in March 2025.

Inflation based on housing and energy rose to 1.3% from 0.5%. Education costs grew 2.6% annually in March after remaining flat in the prior month. Meanwhile, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped 0.5%, and those for clothing and shoes were 0.7% less expensive.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.2% after rising 0.6% in February.