The Swiss stock market finished in negative territory Thursday, following the sharp rise of the previous two trading sessions. The weak performance of the market's most heavily weighted stocks contributed to the decline, as well as weak economic data from the U.S. in the afternoon.
Some of the day's losses were attributed to profit taking, following the strong gains in recent days. Investors were also disappointed by the larger than expected increase in U.S. weekly jobless claims, the drop in U.S. housing starts and the weak Philly Fed data.
The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.68 percent and finished at 8,256.15. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.26 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.59 percent.
Zurich Insurance was one of the largest decliners Thursday, with a loss of 3.3 percent. The insurer reported a lower profit for the first quarter. Richemont surged by 7.6 percent, after the luxury goods group reported higher annual profit.
The index heavyweights weighed on the overall market with their weak performance. Shares of Nestle dropped by 1.8 percent. Novartis declined by 1.2 percent and Roche fell by 0.7 percent.
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