Swiss Market Ends Modestly Lower On Weak Global Cues, Consumer Sentiment Data

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended lower on Tuesday, in line with markets across Europe, as concerns about slowing global growth and rising tensions between the U.S. and China rendered the mood a bit bearish.

Data showing a sharp deterioration in Swiss consumer sentiment in the third quarter hurt as well.

The benchmark SMI ended with a loss of 27.81 points or 0.25% at 11,118.10, after scaling a low of 11,019.63 and a high of 11,135.96 intraday.

Credit Suisse fell 6.25% after ratings agencies Moody's and S&P's "negative" outlook on the Swiss bank. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the bank's rating to negative from stable after the lender named a new chief in an attempt to recover from a period of scandal, turmoil and huge losses.

Partners Group lost about 5%. Holcim, Richemont, SGS and Geberit shed 1.4 to 1.82%.

UBS Group, Sika, ABB and Alcon lost 0.8 to 1.1%.

Logitech, Givaudan, Roche Holding and Swisscom gained 0.7 to 1%. Nestle advanced nearly 0.5%.

In the Mid Price Index, Adecco, Kuehne & Nagel and Swatch Group ended lower by 3.38%, 3.1% and 3.05%, respectively.

Georg Fischer drifted down nearly 3%. VAT Group, Schindler Holding, Schindloer Ps, AMS, BB Biotech and Ems Chemie Holding also ended sharply lower.

Zur Rose soared nearly 9%. Clariant gained about 3%, while Dufry, SIG Combibloc and Barry Callebaut moved up 1.3 to 1.8%.

On the economic front, Swiss consumer sentiment deteriorated sharply in the third quarter as households turned far more pessimistic about the future general economic situation, survey data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed.

The consumer sentiment index fell to -41.7 in the third quarter from -27.4 in the second quarter. The index logged its biggest decline since the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.

According to the survey, households are especially pessimistic about the economy's direction over the next year. The corresponding index came in at -53.5, down from -31.4 in the preceding period.

The indicator of people's expectations about their financial situation over the next 12 months worsened to -34.8 from -24.9, and the past financial situation dropped to -35.0 from -22.0 points.

In contrast, perceptions of the labor market remain strong and the expected price development sub-index has declined for the first time since autumn 2020.