ZURICH, April 23 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank reported on Thursday a loss of 38.2 billion Swiss francs ($39.34 billion) during the first quarter as the coronavirus crisis pummelled the value of its foreign currency holdings.

The central bank took a loss of 31.9 billion francs from its equity portfolio, while it also suffered exchange rate-related losses of 17.1 billion francs as the appreciation in the franc reduced the value of its foreign stocks and bonds.

“The first quarter of 2020 was dominated by the global spread of coronavirus,” the SNB said. “The measures taken to contain the pandemic seriously impacted the financial markets from mid-quarter onwards, and accordingly also the SNB’s result.” ($1 = 0.9710 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)