Swiss Market Settles Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Switzerland market edged higher after a flat start Wednesday morning, but slipped into negative territory not long thereafter and stayed weak till the end of the session as investors largely stayed on the sidelines.

The benchmark SMI, which advanced to 12,949.98 in early trades, ended the session at 12,858.33, with a loss of 31.92 points or 0.25%.

VAT Group soared 7.2%. Galderma Group climbed 3.25%, Logitech International gained 1.57% and Novartis closed up by 1.13%.

Swiss Re closed down by 2.48% and Holcim ended 2.08% down. Julius Baer, Zonova, Zurich Insurance and Swiss Life Holding closed lower by 1.5 to 1.85%.

Straumann Holding, Lindt & Spruengli, Swisscom, Schindler Ps, Sika, Givaudan and ABB lost 0.7 to 1.2%.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's consumer prices stalled unexpectedly in November, following a 0.1% increase in October. Meanwhile, economists had expected the inflation to stay steady at 0.1%.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages were 0.4% less expensive compared to last year, and transportation charges dropped by 1.7%. On the other hand, housing and energy charges grew 0.5%, and education costs were 2.6% higher.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices decreased 0.2% in November, as expected, after falling 0.3% in October.