Franc's Rise Sinks Shares
April 03, 2011
The Swiss Market Index plummeted 95.4 to 3566.1 after rising 12.3 on Friday. Volume remained relatively thin, with particularly heavy selling pressure seen in late-afternoon trading. The Swiss franc rose sharply against the mark; late Monday, it was changing hands at 0.8139 marks after hovering under 0.8200 in late sessions last week. Traders said the Swiss franc's advance was bad news for export-orientated stocks, with losses on other European bourses and early declines on Wall Street also weighing on the market. All sectors ended lower, with Roche Holding one of the most notable decliners on the Swiss Market Index. Roche declined 270 francs to 9,040. Among financial issues, Union Bank of Switzerland fell 34 francs to 1,215 and Swiss Reinsurance declined 26 francs to 1,194. Sulzer, which reported a 2.6% rise in first-half orders, fell 32 francs to 663, while Moritz slumped 45 francs to 1,361.
