The Swiss market opened on a weak note Friday morning, experiencing a steady decline as the day progressed, ultimately closing with a loss exceeding 1%.
Investor sentiment mirrored that of other major European markets, remaining somewhat subdued as they processed the Federal Reserve's recent rate hike and awaited new directional cues.
Attention now turns to the Swiss National Bank's upcoming monetary policy announcement scheduled for next Thursday. The central bank is widely anticipated to cut rates for the third time, potentially lowering the key policy rate from 1.25% to 1%.
The benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) ended the day down 124.23 points, or 1.03%, at 11,934.07, slightly above the session's low.
Key performers saw significant declines: VAT Group fell 4.82%, Kuehne + Nagel dropped 4.4%, Nestle was nearly 4% down, and Swatch Group declined 3.25%.
Julius Baer, Straumann Holding, and Richemont lost close to 3%, while Sika decreased by 2.64%. Other notable declines included Lonza Group, Holcim, Sonova, Geberit, SIG Group, Lindt & Sprüngli, and ABB, which were down between 1% and 2%.
Conversely, SGS advanced by 1.21%. Swisscom, Roche Holding, Roche GS, Givaudan, and Novartis managed to close higher, gaining between 0.6% and 1%.