The Swiss stock market finished to the downside on Tuesday, following four consecutive days of gains. The market remained slightly positive until around midday, but slipped into the red in the afternoon. Weakness in shares of UBS weighed on the market.
Investors eagerly awaiting the results from the upcoming meetings held by the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve. The ECB is expected to unveil new measures, following statements made by Mario Draghi regarding defense of the Euro. Investors will also be watching for the U.S. jobs report, which is due to be released on Friday.
The Swiss Market Index fell by 0.05 percent Tuesday and closed at 6,399.27. The Swiss Leader Index lost 0.57 percent and the Swiss Performance Index dipped by 0.05 percent.
UBS was the biggest decliner on Tuesday, with a loss of 5.9 percent. The bank reported a 58 percent fall in second-quarter profit and issued a cautious outlook, citing challenging market conditions. The disappointing results were impacted by the Facebook IPO.
The rest of the financial stocks were also weak on Tuesday. Julius Baer fell by 1.6 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy." Credit Suisse lost 1.0 percent, while Swiss Re and Swiss Life declined by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.
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