Netherlands equities closed higher on Thursday, with gains concentrated in the Consumer Goods, Technology and Industrials sectors pushing the AEX index up 1.13% by the end of trading in Amsterdam.
The benchmark AEX finished at 1,021.54, up 11.42 points, recording a broad advance across the exchange. Market breadth showed 82 stocks rising, 18 declining and 7 unchanged.
Among the session's strongest performers was ABN AMRO Group NV (ABNd), which climbed 3.53% — a 1.12 point gain — to finish at 32.89. BE Semiconductor Industries NV (BESI) added 3.29%, gaining 8.50 points to close at 266.70, while ASML Holding NV (ASML) rose 3.01%, or 40.00 points, to end at 1,367.00. The shares of ABN AMRO, BE Semiconductor and ASML each registered all-time highs in today’s trade.
On the downside, Prosus (PRX) led decliners in the session, falling 3.24% or 1.30 points to 38.72 at the close. IMCD NV (IMCD) slipped 0.62% — down 0.60 points — to 96.40. Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV (AD) recorded a marginal gain of 0.03% or 0.01 points, finishing at 36.51.
Volatility as measured by the AEX Volatility index held steady, unchanged at 21.09, indicating no immediate shift in implied option volatility for the index during the session.
Commodities markets were tilted lower: crude oil for June delivery eased 0.33% to $100.69 per barrel, while Brent for July delivery declined 0.88% to $104.70 a barrel. The June gold futures contract fell 0.54%, a drop of $25.30, to trade at $4,681.40 per troy ounce.
FX markets showed limited movement. The euro-dollar pair (EUR/USD) was effectively unchanged, recorded at 1.17, and EUR/GBP was steady at 0.87. The US Dollar Index futures moved up 0.23% to 98.65.
The session's performance left the AEX higher with a healthy number of advancing issues, supported by notable strength in several large caps that reached record levels. At the same time, selective pressure in individual names and softer commodity prices were evident as the trading day concluded.