Swiss Stocks Decline From Five-Year High; Adecco Drops
By Adria Cimino - 2013-03-13T08:25:09Z.
Swiss stocks retreated from a five- year high before a report that may show euro-area industrial output fell in January.
Adecco SA (ADEN), the biggest supplier of temporary workers, slid the most since October after fourth-quarter profit missed analyst estimates. SGS SA, the world’s largest product inspector, gained after UBS AG added the shares to its preferred list.
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) fell 0.3 percent to 7,782.78 at 9:21 a.m. in Zurich after yesterday closing at its highest level since February 2008. The benchmark gauge has still climbed 14 percent this year as the U.S. unemployment rate fell and speculation mounted that central banks will continue to support economic recovery. The broader Swiss Performance Index also dropped 0.3 percent today.
Euro-area industrial production declined 0.1 percent in January, after increasing 0.7 percent in December, economists predicted before a release from the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg at 11 a.m. local time.
Adecco lost 4.2 percent to 52.40 francs, the biggest drop since Oct. 26. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of 35 million euros, missing the average analyst estimate of 82.8 million euros.
SGS (SGSN) advanced 0.9 percent to 2,419 Swiss francs as UBS added the stock to its most preferred list of shares.
Cytos Biotechnology AG (CYTN) jumped 8.4 percent to 4.24 francs. The company said a Phase 2a study for an asthma treatment met all clinical endpoints.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
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