The Swiss franc strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Tuesday, as European shares fell on the back of a stronger euro, while weak earnings results also weighed.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently down 0.69 percent or 43.27 points at 6,198, France's CAC 40 index is down 1.28 percent or 56.79 points at 4,385 and Germany's DAX is down 1.58 percent or 159.61 points at 9,963.
Sentiment was also hurt after data showed that the Chinese factory activity weakened further in April.
Data from Caixin showed that the manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in April, and at an accelerated pace, with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 49.4. That missed forecasts for 49.8, and it was down from 49.7 in March.
In economic news, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed that Swiss consumer sentiment index fell marginally to -15 in April from -14 in January. It was forecast to improve to -12.
In the Asian trading today, the Swiss franc held steady against its major rivals.
In the European trading, the Swiss franc rose to more than an 8-month high of 0.9444 against the U.S. dollar and nearly a 2-week high of 1.3914, from early lows of 0.9554 and 1.4040, respectively. If the Swiss franc extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.92 against the greenback and 1.37 against the pound.
Against the yen, the franc advanced to a 4-day high of 111.81 from an early lows of 110.93. The franc may test resistance around the 115.00 area.
The franc climbed to a 4-day high of 1.0959 against the euro, from an early near 2-month low of 1.1016. On the upside, 1.08 is seen as the next resistance level for the franc.
Looking ahead, at 10:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will participate in a panel discussion titled "Unconventional wisdom: How will unusual monetary policy affect market liquidity" at the Atlanta Federal Reserve's Annual Financial Markets Conference in Amelia Island.
At 12:30 pm ET, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is expected to participate in a panel discussion at the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles.
The Japanese markets are closed in observance of the Constitution Day holiday.
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