Swiss stocks finished notably lower on Friday, capping off a negative week for the market, as traders remain concerned about the debt situation in Europe and about growth prospects in the U.S.
After breaking a recent losing streak with modest gains the previous day, shares were steady in early action, edging only slightly lower. Selling intensified in the afternoon ahead of the three-day holiday weekend, leaving shares more than 1 percent lower at the close.
The benchmark SMI fell 1.18 percent on the day, dropping to 6,197.25. The index experienced a weekly loss of 3.3 percent. Meanwhile, the SLI dropped 1.19 percent to 965.28 and the SPI retreated 1.15 percent to 5,706.65.
The unresolved debt situation in Greece weighed on financial stocks. Many of the big banks saw early gains on Friday amid hope that they would benefit from a bailout of the debt-ridden country. However, uncertainty about whether a final deal will be reached in the near term sparked selling in the afternoon.
After showing gains of 1 percent earlier in the day, both CS and UBS finished the day modestly lower.
The euro declined on the debt worries, pushing the Swiss franc higher. The currency situation weighed on certain sectors.
Meanwhile, Novartis and Actelion both fell sharply on negative analyst comments, with losses of 1.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.