The Switzerland market ended on a weak note on Wednesday as investors largely stayed cautious and chose to lighten some commitments ahead of a slew of crucial economic data from the U.S.
The benchmark SMI, which stayed weak right through the day\'s session, settled with a loss of 98.41 points or 0.86% at 11,370.74, the day\'s low.
Shares of drugmaker Roche Holding ended down by 4.4% after the company reported a 6% drop in first-quarter sales.
UBS Group drifted down nearly 3%. Partners Group, Lindt Spruengli, Zurich Insurance Group, Julius Baer and Alcon lost 1.3 to 2%.
Swiss RE, Swisscom, Swatch Group and SIG Group ended lower by 0.9 to 1.1%. Lonza Group, Swiss Life Holding, Kuehne & Nagel and VAT Group lost 0.5 to 0.7%.
Logitech International, Sika, Givaudan, SGS, Holcim and Schindler Ps gained 0.4 to 0.9%. Novartis, Straumann Holding and ABB ended marginally up.
On the economic front, a report from UBS & CFA Society said the Swiss investors\' sentiment index rose by 6.1 points from the previous month to 17.6 in April 2024, marking the highest reading since September 2021.