Swiss Market Closes Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - After opening weak and struggling for support till a little past noon, the Switzerland market emerged higher on Wednesday, but retreated soon and eventually ended the day's session on a negative note.

Uncertainty about the size of U.S. interest rate cut, and persisting concerns about the outlook for global economic growth weighed on stocks.

The benchmark SMI ended down 41.80 points or 0.35% at 11,922.91. The index, which climbed to 12,022.37 around mid afternoon, dropped to 11,877.88 before recovering some lost ground.

SIG Group ended down 2.4%. Lindt & Spruengli, Novartis and Logitech International closed lower by 1.3 to 1.4%.

Holcim ended down 1.03%. Julius Baer, Swiss Re, Sika and Lonza Group lost 0.4 to 1.03%.

Nestle ended moderately lower. The company agreed to pay a 2 million-euro fine to resolve criminal allegations in France related to its Nestlé Waters Supply Est unit's natural mineral water production, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Givaudan, Zurich Insurance Group and UBS Group gained 0.6 to 0.8%. VAT Group advanced by about 0.4%.

Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer price index rose by 0.2% in August, matching the uptick seen in July as well as economist estimates.

However, core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, climbed by 0.3% in August after rising by 0.2% in July. Economists had expected core prices to rise by another 0.2%.

The Federal Reserve is still likely to lower interest rates next week, but the bigger than expected increase by core consumer prices is seen as reducing the chances the central bank lowers rates by 50 basis points.

Following the report, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating an 83% chance of a quarter point rate cut and just a 17% percent chance of a half-point rate cut.