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The Switzerland stock market ended weak on Thursday, bucking the largely positive trend seen across global markets<\/span>, as investors chose to take some profits, cashing in recent gains.<\/p>\n However, a report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, that said the Swiss economy<\/span> is set to recover at a rapid pace this year helped limit losses.<\/p>\n Save for a brief while a few minutes past the opening bell, the benchmark SMI was down in negative territory today. The index ended the day with a loss of 26.54 points or 0.24% at 10,888.23, after moving in a tight band of about 58 points.<\/p>\n Credit Suisse, down nearly 4%, was the most prominent loser in the SMI. Roche Holding shares ended 1.6% down after the company said that adding its drug Actemra to Gilead Sciences’ Veklury medication did not reduce hospital stays for patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia.<\/p>\n UBS Group closed lower by 1.55%, while Zurich Insurance Group slid nearly 1%.<\/p>\n Sika gained 2.3%, Lonza Group advanced 1.6% and Geberit gained 1.3%. Partners Group and ABB ended nearly 1% up from their previous closing levels, while SGS and Givaudan both gained about 0.75%.<\/p>\n Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, Dufry, Galenica Sante and Adecco ended lower by 1.2 to 1.5%. Julius Baer, Clariant and OC Oerlikon Corp also closed weak.<\/p>\n Logitech, Straumann Holding, PSP Swiss Property, VAT Group, SIG Combibloc, AMS, Schindler PS and Kuehne & Nagel gained 1.6 to 2.7%.<\/p>\n SECO said the Swiss economy will contract in the first quarter, but recover at a rapid pace with the easing of coronavirus<\/span> measures. Gross domestic product is forecast to grow 3% in 2021 and 3.3% next year. The projection for this year was left unchanged, while that for 2022 was revised up from 3.1%.<\/p>\n The economy is expected to shrink significantly in the first quarter of this year. However, a collapse of a similar magnitude to last spring so far seems unlikely, the SECO said.<\/p>\n The SECO expects consumer prices to climb 0.4% in 2021 instead of 0.1% estimated previously. Similarly, the projection for 2022 was raised to 0.4% from 0.3%, The jobless rate is seen at 3.3% this year and 3% next year. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n