The Swiss stock market closed Friday with a very slight gain Friday, nearly unchanged from the previous session's close. The market managed to close in positive territory for the week.
The positivity sparked by yesterday's surprise Chinese rate cut disappeared on Friday. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the Joint Economic Committee also continued to have an impact on sentiment. Fitch Ratings announced Thursday that it downgraded Spain's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings to 'BBB' from 'A'. Reportedly, Spain is likely to request aid from European countries, over the weekend, to shore up their troubled banks.
The Swiss Market Index closed with a gain of 0.00 percent on Friday and finished at 5,869.32. The SMI finished the trading week with a gain of 1.6 percent. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.29 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.10 percent.
The defensive heavyweights all finished in positive territory Friday and provided support to the overall market. Novartis climbed by 0.6 percent and Roche gained 0.1 percent. Shares of Nestle increase by 0.5 percent.
Clariant was among the largest decliners on Friday, with a loss of 4.1 percent. Credit Suisse fell by 1.9 percent and Swiss Life decreased by 1.9 percent. Shares of Swatch dropped by 1.8 percent and Richemont declined by 1.2 percent.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.