Helsinki, Finland - Finland's equity market closed in negative territory on Wednesday, with the benchmark OMX Helsinki 25 slipping 0.55% at the end of trading.
Sector pressure came primarily from Telecoms, Technology and Industrials, which collectively pushed the index lower during the session. Market breadth favored decliners: 102 stocks fell compared with 77 that advanced, while 11 stocks finished unchanged on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
Top gainers
- Fortum Oyj (HE:FORTUM) led the winners on the OMX Helsinki 25, rising 2.96% - an increase of 0.63 points - to close at 21.88.
- Nokian Renkaat Oyj (HE:TYRES) added 2.57%, or 0.24 points, finishing the day at 9.60.
- Wartsila Oyj Abp (HE:WRT1V) also posted gains, up 1.79% or 0.65 points to end at 37.04.
Largest decliners
- Qt Group Oyj (HE:QTCOM) was the session's weakest performer on the index, dropping 7.59% - a fall of 1.59 points - to close at 19.35.
- Metso Oyj (HE:METSO) fell 4.64%, or 0.73 points, to finish at 15.00.
- Huhtamaki Oyj (HE:HUH1V) declined 3.81% - down 1.08 points - to 27.24, with the stock noted to have fallen to 5-year lows during the session.
The trading day also featured notable moves in commodity futures. Brent crude for June delivery rose 3.34%, up $3.29, to $101.77 a barrel. U.S. crude for June delivery climbed 3.78%, an increase of $3.39, to $93.06 a barrel. In metals, the June Gold Futures contract gained 0.58% - up $27.56 - to trade at $4,747.16 a troy ounce.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was effectively unchanged at 1.17, registering a 0.25% move, while EUR/GBP registered a 0.28% move to 0.87 and was described as unchanged. The US Dollar Index Futures finished the session up 0.15% at 98.36.
The overall picture for the day was dominated by sector-level weakness in Telecoms, Technology and Industrials, which outweighed gains in a subset of large caps. Market participants saw more names decline than rise, and one mid-cap producer hit a multi-year low during the session.
Further movements in commodities and currency futures accompanied the equity moves, with crude benchmarks rising materially and gold futures edging higher.