Swiss Market Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland stock market ended notably lower on Tuesday, weighed down by data showing a drop in Swiss retail sales, and amid caution ahead of interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

The benchmark SMI ended down 93.86 points or 0.82% at 11,285.78. The index dropped to a low of 11,238.81 in early afternoon trades.

UBS Group shares ended lower by 2.07% despite the lender reporting higher earnings in the fourth quarter. UBS said its net profit attributable to shareholders was $1.65 billion, up 22.6% from last year's $1.35 billion. Earnings per share were $0.50, higher than $0.38 a year ago.

Sonova ended 3.8% down. Lonza Group ended lower by about 2.65%. Partners Group, Richemont, Logitech, Swiss Life Holding and Roche Holding declined 1 to 1.4%.

In the Mid Price Index, AMS ended lower by 4.37%. Tecan Group lost nearly 3%. Galenica Sante ended nearly 2% down.

Schindler Ps, Straumann Holding, Bachem Holding, Shindler Holding, Julius Baer, Helvetia, Swiss Prime Site and Adecco lost 1.2 to 1.7%.

Zur Rose rallied 3.75%. Belimo Holding, SGS and Kuehne & Nagel edged up marginally.

Preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Swtizerland's retail sales decreased for a third month in row in December, and at the fastest pace since April, despite Christmas holidays as households cut back on spending amid high inflation.

Total retail sales decreased 2.8% year-on-year following a revised 1.4% slump in November. Economists had expected the pace of decline to moderate to 0.7%. This was the worst fall since April, when sales shrank 5.7%.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales decreased a real 1.7% in December, after a 0.6% increase in November. This was also the worst fall since April and was driven by an 8.5% slump in sales of information and communication equipment. For the full year 2022, retail sales grew a real 0.2%.