For the second day, Credit Suisse stocks, Switzerland's second largest bank, fell by 3.4% to CHF24.84. Stocks of other Swiss companies dropped today as well.
Toilets and bathroom piping manufacturer Geberit AG's stocks were valued at Swiss Francs 234.10 after falling 2.2%. The same percentage drop was also seen by Julius Baer Group Ltd, Switzerland's third-largest wealth manager, whose stocks fell to CHF39.39.
Although sales volume was 23% higher today compared to the 30-day average, says Bloomberg, the Swiss Market Index (SMI) dropped to 7,622.58 today, a decrease of 3.4%. The Swiss Performance Index also fell 1.3% after the May 22 statement of Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman. In this statement, Bernanke made reference to forecasts of the US economy recovering and, if so, that the central bank's bond buying may decrease.
This general drop in Swiss stocks was attributed to a number of factors. Credit Suisse was primarily affected by Standard & Poor's (S&P) decision to cut its long-term counterparty credit ratings. Portuguese political instability and increasing crude oil prices were two other factors that also affected the decline.
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