Swiss Market Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Swiss stocks closed weak on Monday, in line with markets across Europe, as concerns about a re-escalation in the Middle East conflict after the U.S.-Iran peace talks over the weekend failed to produce an agreement.

Concerns about inflation and growth rose after Brent crude soared nearly 9% after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. army would blockade the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The Swiss benchmark SMI ended down by 37.37 points or 0.28% at 13,145.91 after scaling a low of 13,063.61 and a high of 13,170.71 intraday.

Swisscom slid 2.4% and Julius Baer ended 2.3% down. Geberit, Nestle and Kuehne + Nagel lost 1.1%-1.5%. Lindt & Spruengli, Novartis and Sika ended lower by 0.9%-1%.

Sandoz Group, Holcim, Swiss Re, SGS, Galderma Group and Givaudan also closed weak.

UBS Group gained a little over 1%. Partners Group, Schindler Ps and Swiss Life Holding climbed 0.8%-0.9%.

Roche gained about 0.5%. The company announced today that its Elecsys Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) test has received CE mark approval for the detection of neuroinflammation in patients diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

Logitech International, Straumann Holding, Zurich Insurance, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Lonza Group and Sonova also ended higher.