Swiss economic outlook turns negative first time in six months

The economic outlook for the Swiss economy has turned negative for the first time in six months as the country continues to struggle the odds of weaker prospects for Europe following Britain's vote to quit the European Union, according to a Reuters poll published on Wednesday.

The Credit Suisse ZEW indicator, which signals expectations for developments over the next six months, fell 8.7 points in August to a balance of -2.8 points, the first negative result since February.

The number of economists who expected a worsening economic situation in August increased from a month earlier, while a lower proportion forecast an improvement.

Still, nearly 70 percent of the experts polled expected no change in the economic situation in Switzerland in the future and nearly all of them described the current economic situation as good or normal.

The survey comes a day after a ZEW poll in Germany found the mood among analysts and investors improved slightly in August, regaining some ground after a slump last month following the Brexit vote. Further, most respondents in the ZEW poll expected no change in the euro-franc exchange rate in the coming months.

In addition, the poll found that most economists expected conditions in the eurozone to worsen, the uncertainty being reflected in the Swiss Market Index, which has lost more than 7 percent in value this year.