(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market closed sharply lower on Thursday, in line with markets across Europe, as concerns about outlook for interest rates and economic growth weighed on sentiment.
The Federal Reserve, which lowered interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, signaled fewer interest rate cuts in 2025 than previously expected. The Bank of England today left interest rates unchanged.
The benchmark SMI closed down 224.07 points or 1.93% at 11,414.84, after staying well below the flat line right through the day's session.
ABB ended 5.42% down, and VAT Group closed down 5.14%. Partners Group settled lower by 4.29%, while Straumann Holding, UBS Group and Roche Holding lost 3.25 to 4%. Roche Holding announced that its investigational early-stage Parkinson's disease drug prasinezumab failed to meet the primary endpoint of the phase 2b Padova study.
Adecco, Logitech International, Holcim, Lonza Group, Geberit, Sika, SIG Group, Zurich Insurance Group, Richemont and Schindler Ps ended down 1.5 to 2.7%.
Givaudan, Sonova, Julius Baer, Novartis, Alcon and SGS also ended notably lower.
Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed Switzerland's foreign trade surplus decreased notably in November as exports fell much faster than imports.
The trade surplus decreased to CHF 4.0 billion in November from CHF 6.0 billion in October. In real terms, exports plunged 10.8% over the month, reversing an 11.4% decrease in October. Imports decreased 2.8%, which was the first fall in three months.
In nominal terms, both exports and imports declined by 11% and 3.6%, respectively.
According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, watch exports dropped 3.8% annually in November. The overall decline was mainly driven by 5.8% lower shipments of steel watches.
