Swiss shares close slighly lower tracking Wall Street; Nestle weak UPDATE |
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Thu, 25 Jan 2007 18:09
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(Updating with full report)ZURICH (AFX) - Share prices closed slightly lower in volatile trade tracking losses on Wall Street, with a weakness in heavyweight Nestle weighing, dealers said.At the close, the Swiss Market Index was 19.00 points lower at 9,134.10, and the Swiss Performance Index down 12.53 points at 7,227.50.The euro was lower against the Swiss franc at 1.6144 sfr, as was the dollar at 1.2444 sfr.Trading was volatile throughout the day, with the SMI reaching a new all-time high of 9,000.82 in the afternoon, before succumbing to early losses on Wall Street, a trader here said.Nestle closed down 1.1 pct or 4.75 sfr at 439.Other losers included, Synthes, down 1.5 pct or 2.30 sfr at 156.40, Swatch, down 4 sfr or 1.4 pct at 286, and Nobel Biocare, down 4.25 sfr at 411.On the other side of the spectrum, Clariant gained 2.7 pct or 0.55 sfr to 21, on continuing takeover speculation.Banking stocks also posted a strong performance, with UBS closing up 0.65 sfr at 68.05, and Credit Suisse up 0.25 at 88.45 sfr.Among pharmaceuticals, Roche eased 0.50 to 235.60 sfr, while Novartis closed flat at 72.60.Lonza dropped 0.50 sfr to 115.40 on profit-taking following yesterday's gains in the wake of strong full-year results.Outside the SMI, Ascom rose another 0.85 sfr or 3.4 pct to 25.50, as Switzerland's Hasler foundation announced it has sold almost its entire 7.5 pct stake in the telcoms group to undisclosed institutional investors.The deal follows the recent acquisition of a 20 pct stake by Austria's Victory, although, according to Hasler, no Austrian buyers were involved.afx.zurich@afxnews.comat/ambCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Swiss shares close slighly lower tracking Wall Street; Nestle weak 