"… investors forgot about the problems in the U.S."
- John Plassard, director at Louis Capital Markets
Swiss stocks tumbled on Monday amid worries that U.S. policy makers may not reach a consensus on budget cuts and after Spain selected a new government.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, lost 2.45%, or 137.35 points, to 5,477.26. The broader Swiss Performance Index decreased 2.46%, or 125.22 points, to 4,966.04.
"The focus was so much on the debt crisis that investors forgot about the problems in the U.S.," said John Plassard, director at Louis Capital Markets in Geneva. "The longer one waits to take action on debt reduction and measures to restore growth, the longer it takes for investors to return to the market."