The Swiss market closed slightly lower on Tuesday, maintaining a negative trend throughout the session as investors held back due to a lack of significant catalysts.
The benchmark SMI closed down by 18.93 points, or 0.15%, at 12,260.93, after fluctuating between 12,197.46 and 12,271.34 during the day.
Straumann Holding and Swiss Re saw declines of 1.46% and 1.35%, respectively. Other notable laggards included Partners Group, Sonova, and Zurich Insurance Group, which decreased by 1.13%, 1.02%, and 0.94%, respectively.
Logitech International, Nestlé, Swiss Life Holding, and Alcon also ended the day on a weaker note.
DKSH, a market expansion services company, saw its shares surge by about 8% following a report of an increase in first-half profit to 111.2 million francs from 103.4 million francs in the same period last year. However, the company's net sales for the first half were 5.44 billion francs, down from 5.62 billion francs a year earlier.
Richemont gained nearly 1% despite reporting a fall in fiscal first-quarter total sales to 5.27 billion euros from 5.32 billion euros, primarily due to weaker sales in the Asia-Pacific region, especially China. However, the company's Jewellery Maisons division posted a 4% sales growth at constant exchange rates, reaching 3.66 billion euros.
VAT Group rose by 1.66%, Geberit gained nearly 1.5%, and Kuehne + Nagel ended up by 1.17%, while Sika increased by 0.65%.
