The Swiss stock market finished with a modest loss on Wednesday. Concerns over a possible Greek exit from the Eurozone continued to weigh on investors, as well as the banking situation in Spain. There was also a disappointing bond auction in Italy on Wednesday and the revelation that China has no plans to introduce large-scale stimulus measures.
The market recovered after statements made by the EU Commission in the early afternoon, which proposed allowing direct bank recapitalization by the European Stability Mechanism. Later in the afternoon, the weaker than expected U.S. pending home sales report dragged the market back into the red.
The Swiss Market Index fell by 0.20 percent Wednesday and finished at 5,902.82. The Swiss Leader Index lost 0.75 percent and the Swiss Performance Index declined by 0.39 percent.
The defensive heavyweights provided some support to the market on Wednesday. Nestle climbed by 0.6 percent and Novartis gained 0.7 percent. However, Roche finished with a loss of 0.3 percent.
Cyclical stocks were among the weakest performers on Wednesday. Logitech dropped by 3.7 percent and Clariant lost 3.1 percent. Holcim finished down by 1.6 percent, Kuehne + Nagel fell by 2.2% and Schindler lost 1.4 percent.
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