Swiss shares lower tracking DJIA futures amid investor caution ahead of US data

Swiss shares lower tracking DJIA futures amid investor caution ahead of US data

	Published : Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:53 By : Agencies Print this Story

ZURICH (Thomson Financial) - Swiss shares were lower in afternoon trade tracking Wall Street futures amid investor caution ahead of key US data.

At 1.15 pm, the Swiss Market Index was 88.91 points down at 9,129.33 and the Swiss Performance Index fell 66.11 points to 7,446.81.

Key US retail sales and wholesale inflation data are due out today, as well as earnings reports from several US companies, including General Electric. US producer prices are being closely watched as the market looks for direction, not least on whether the US Federal Reserve will decide to cut interest rates once more, a Zurich-based trader said.

US producer prices are forecast to have risen 0.5 pct in September after a surprise 1.4 pct decline in the prior month, according to economists polled by Thomson's IFR Markets. Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen rising 0.2 pct matching the rise in August, said IFR.

Nobel Biocare led the market's underperformers, falling 3.5 pct, or 12 sfr to 325.75. Syngenta dropped 2.1 pct, or 5.50 sfr to 260.00 and ABB was 1.8 pct, or 0.60 sfr, down at 32.34. A Bank Vontobel analyst said that ABB's stock price could see some movement after competitor General Electric releases third-quarter earnings later today.

In pharmaceuticals, Novartis was 1.4 pct, or 0.90 sfr lower at 63.00 and Roche fell 1.60 sfr to 216.70.

Fellow heavyweight Nestle was 3.00 sfr lower at 508.50.

The market's few gainers included Clariant, up 1.2 pct, or 0.18 sfr, at 15.38 and Swisscom, which rose 3.20 sfr to 446.50. Zurich Financial added 0.25 sfr at 364.50.

Outside the SMI, BioXell was sharply higher, up 7.4 pct, or 3.30 sfr at 47.80 after phase IIb tests showed that its prostate drug Elocalcitol was effective in slowing prostate growth and alleviating adverse urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Bucher rose 1.8 pct, or 4.50 sfr to 249.50. Earlier, the Swiss industrial group won an order worth up to 30 mln sfr to supply fruit juice mills and pressing technology to Shaanzi Hengxing Fruit Juice Co Ltd in China.

EMS was 0.60 sfr higher at 164.60 after reporting sales for the first nine months of 2007 rose to 1.160 bln sfr, an 11.3 pct increase in Swiss franc terms.

The pharmaceutical company cited continued positive economic trends in its main markets Europe and Asia.

sarah.fenwick@thomson.com

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