The Swiss stock market closed notably weaker on Wednesday, with the benchmark equity index dropping nearly 1.2 percent. The retreat was prompted by worries about U.S. growth, with traders concerned about a slowdown in the world's biggest economy.
In a speech delivered Tuesday evening, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sounded a cautious tone, saying that unless a sustained period of strong job growth appears, there is no assurance that a recovery has taken hold. This spawned a pessimistic environment at the outset of trading, with the mood weakening in the afternoon as traders waited for the Fed's Beige Book report, due out late Wednesday.
The blue-chip SMI dropped 1.17 percent on the day to close at 6,256.86. The SLI fell 1.29 percent to 972.48. The SPI declined 1.18 percent to 5,759.01.
Clariant was among the worst performers on the day, dropping by 3.6 percent. Shares were hurt by general economic fears and by negative analyst comments. Logitech was another loser, falling 3.4 percent after UBS lowered its price target on the stock.
Financial and cyclical stocks were hard hit. Among the financials, UBS dropped 2.1 percent and CS declined by 1.5 percent. In the cyclical sector, ABB, Adecco and Kuehne + Nagel were each down by more than 2 percent.
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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.