Swiss Market Index Kicks Off Holiday Week Little Changed

12:00 PM EST, 12/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Swiss Market Index kicked off the abridged trading week flat on Monday, closing 0.06% lower, ahead of Christmas and other holidays. This week will be a quiet period for economic news releases, with only the UBS & CFA Society Switzerland's economic sentiment index for December on the local calendar. Market watchers are also awaiting gross domestic product and jobless claims figures in the US. Elsewhere, the UK's GDP ticked up 0.1% in the third quarter, following a revised 0.2% growth in the previous three-month period, final government data showed. On a yearly basis, the British economy expanded 1.3% in the quarter, against the earlier 1.4% gain. On the corporate front, Novartis (NOVN.SW) agreed with the US government to reduce the price of innovative medicines in the country, including plans to establish direct-to-patient platforms in 2026 for its multiple sclerosis drug Mayzent and cancer medications Rydapt and Tabrecta. Fellow Swiss pharmaceutical major Roche's (ROG.SW) Genentech subsidiary in the US also reached a deal, with Roche Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schinecker telling Tages-Anzeiger in an interview that medications would become more expensive in Switzerland as a result. Novartis was up 0.18% at closing, while Roche was down 0.12%. Meanwhile, Clariant (CLN.SW) "firmly" rejected allegations by Hungary-based oil and gas company MOL Group and Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem that it infringed a competition law in the ethylene purchasing market. The Swiss specialty chemicals company said it will "adamantly defend" its position in the proceedings, with the claims filed in the court of Munich in Germany. The stock fell 0.84%.