Swiss Stocks Tumble Amid Rising Euro Inflation

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) ended the week down 0.32% as investors weighed company earnings against rising euro area inflation.

The inflation rate ticked up to 2.9% in July, from 2.8%, and core inflation rose to 2.5% from 2.4%, according to Eurostat's flash estimate.

ING, a Dutch bank, said that this increase keeps the European Central Bank (ECB) 'on high alert' and makes another rate hike in September plausible.

This has implications for companies like Holcim, a Swiss building materials firm that still fell 2.76% despite beating earnings expectations with recurring operating profit of CHF1,007 million versus the expected CHF958 million.