"With small volume, the markets can move without much effort"
- Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank
Swiss stocks snapped a five-day rally on Tuesday after S&P/CS report showed U.S. house prices fell more than expected.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, shed 0.12%, or 6.98 points, to 5,886.91. The broader Swiss Performance Index edged lower 0.13%, or 6.85 points, to 5,302.10.
"With small volume, the markets can move without much effort," said Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank in Lucerne, Switzerland. "The weak data on house prices certainly don't help. Even so, the outlook for the whole week remains optimistic."
KOF Economic Research Agency is to announce its KOF Economic Barometer later today. Economists expect the reading to decline to 0.25 from 0.35 in November.
© Dukascopy Bank