Swiss stock market drops below 5,000 points

ZURICH – Switzerland’s blue chip stock index fell below 5,000 points Tuesday for the first time since 2003.

The Swiss Market Index, or SMI, closed at 4,941.31 points, a drop of 2.7 percent compared to Monday and about 11 percent lower than at the start of 2009.

Almost all of the index’s 20 reference stocks were down, with insurer Swiss Life Holding dropping 13 percent.

The country’s main banks Credit Suisse Group and UBS AG lost 6.5 percent and 5.5 percent respectively.

Food and drinks giants Nestle SA, which reports full-year results Thursday, lost 1.5 percent.

The last time the SMI stood below 5,000 points was in summer 2003.

[AP / Expatica]