Netherlands stocks ended Thursday's session in the red, with sector declines in Healthcare, Technology and Real Estate contributing to the overall pullback in Amsterdam trading.
At the close, the AEX fell 0.70%.
The session's strongest performers on the AEX included BE Semiconductor Industries NV (AS:BESI), which climbed 4.09% or 9.50 points to finish at 241.80. ASM International NV (AS:ASMI) added 1.67% or 14.00 points to close at 851.60, and Unilever PLC (AS:ULVR) rose 0.92% or 0.45 points to 49.06 in late trade.
Laggards featured Adyen NV (AS:ADYEN), which retreated 4.10% or 39.80 points to end at 930.60. Wolters Kluwer (AS:WLSNc) fell 3.91% or 2.68 points to 65.78, while ASML Holding NV (AS:ASML) declined 2.08% or 26.00 points to 1,223.80.
On the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by 59 to 42, and six stocks finished unchanged.
Two names reached all-time highs during the session: BE Semiconductor Industries NV (AS:BESI) rose to a record level, increasing 4.09% or 9.50 to 241.80, and ASM International NV (AS:ASMI) also moved to an all-time high, higher by 1.67% or 14.00 to 851.60.
The AEX Volatility index, which gauges implied volatility in AEX options, was unchanged at 21.09.
Commodity markets saw notable moves. Crude oil for June delivery gained 1.80% or 1.67 to trade at $94.63 a barrel. Brent oil for June delivery rose 1.70% or 1.73 to $103.64 a barrel. By contrast, the June Gold Futures contract slipped 0.35% or 16.46 to trade at $4,736.54 a troy ounce.
Currency markets were largely flat in the reported measures: EUR/USD was unchanged, moving 0.04% to 1.17, and EUR/GBP was essentially flat as well, unchanged 0.06% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 98.49.
Market participants saw a mixture of sector-specific strength and broad weakness: a handful of large-cap names hit new highs even as the overall index declined and more stocks finished lower than higher.