In early deals on Tuesday, the Swiss franc edged down against its U.S., European and Japanese counterparts as UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, reported a fourth consecutive quarterly loss on hefty accounting charges. The franc thus fell to a 4-day low against the euro.
But the franc advanced against the pound due to across the board weakening of the latter.
The third-quarter net loss attributable to UBS shareholders of CHF 564 million, compared with a profit of CHF 283 million a year ago. Loss per share was CHF 0.15 versus profit of CHF 0.09 in the prior-year quarter.
The company said that latest quarter results were significantly affected by a charge of CHF 1.44 billion for own credit on financial liabilities designated at fair value, charge of CHF 409 million in relation to the closing of the UBS Pactual sale, and conversion of the mandatory convertible notes issued to the Swiss Confederation resulted in a loss of CHF 305 million in the recent quarter.
The Swiss franc declined to 1.0238 against the US dollar in early deals on Tuesday. The near term support for the Swiss currency is seen around the 1.028 level. At yesterday's close, the dollar-franc pair was quoted at 1.0224.
During early trading on Tuesday, the Swiss franc fell against the Japanese yen. As of now, the franc-yen pair is worth 88.05, down from yesterday's close of 88.30. If the pair weakens further, it may target the 86.8 level.
The Swiss franc that closed yesterday's trading at 1.5097 against the euro dropped to a 4-day low of 1.5113 in early deals on Tuesday. The next downside target level for the franc is seen at 1.5175.
In early deals on Tuesday, the Swiss franc jumped to 1.6717 against the pound. This may be compared to Monday's close of 1.6776. On the upside, 1.668 is seen as the next target level for the Swiss currency.
Looking ahead, a monthly Purchasing Managers' Index for the British construction sector is due at 4:30 am ET. The index is forecast to rise to 47.2 in October from 46.7 in September.
The U.S. Commerce Department is due to release its report on factory goods orders for September at 10 am ET. Orders for manufactured goods are likely to have increased 0.9% in the month.
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