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"Bond sales in Italy and France, because the countries have more problems, will offer more of a guide for the market"
- Arnaud Scarpaci, a fund manager at Agilis Gestion SA
Swiss stocks closed lower on Friday on concern some euro area countries may be downgraded by Standard & Poor's in the next few days. These expectations were proven to be justified later that day.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, shed 0.36%, or 21.73 points, to 5,996.34. The broader Swiss Performance Index declined 0.30%, or 16.53 points, to 5,411.38.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office is to announce producer price inflation later today. Inflation dropped 0.8 percent in November after declining 0.2 percent in October.