- Bernd Hartmann, head of investment research at Bernd Hartmann
The Swiss economy surprisingly contracted in the second quarter, official data showed on Tuesday. Nation's GDP fell to a seasonally adjusted -0.1%, down from 0.5% in the first quarter, posting first drop since the third quarter of 2011.
"The Swiss economy successfully bucked the difficult trend in the euro zone for a long time," said Bernd Hartmann, VP Bank head of investment research.
"But the slight contraction in the second quarter shows that the Swiss economy cannot completely decouple itself. The linkages within Europe are too great."
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies fell 1.16 per cent to 6,362.82. The broader Swiss Performance Index tumbled 1.09 per cent to 5,883.63.
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