Rally Tails Off Late in Day
March 30, 2011
The Swiss Market Index edged down 7 to 3649.2. The market started the day slightly higher, supported a solid start to trading on Wall Street Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 50 points near the close of trading in Zurich. But the Swiss market's gains were pared as investors continued to be depressed by the weak dollar and strong Swiss franc, which are hurting export-orientated issues in particular. The dollar was trading at 1.2190 Swiss francs in late-afternoon European trading, little changed from Wednesday's settlement. In corporate news, embattled electronics retailer Interdiscount rose 1.50 francs to 11.50 after shareholders approved a radical breakup plan. The company's creditors gave their approval to the plan at a meeting earlier in the day. At the meeting, Chairman Leopoldo Acord told shareholders the 25-year-old company's ``orderly breakup'' was a ``damage limitation'' exercise. It was the massive losses incurred by its French subsidiary that brought Interdiscount to the brink of the abyss before its creditors, which include foreign banks, approved a standstill agreement earlier this month. Interdiscount has already sold most of its Swiss holdings to the Coop group for 220 million Swiss francs cash. Under the agreement, Coop also took on liabilities of 80 million francs. Elsewhere, CS Holding climbed 1 franc to 127.25, though other major banks and insurers ended the session flat to lower. In the drug sector, Roche Holding sank 30 francs to 9,300, while Ciba-Geigy was unchanged at 1,485 francs. Nestle advanced 6 francs to 1,411, while ABB Kirkman Dean Soler dipped 2 francs to 1,480.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
