Overview
Finnish equities finished the session higher on Wednesday, with the OMX Helsinki 25 closing up 0.10%. The advance was led by gains in the Oil & Gas, Consumer Services and Telecoms sectors, supporting a modest rise in the headline index at the close in Helsinki.
Top and bottom movers
Among constituents of the OMX Helsinki 25, Neste Oyj (HE:NESTE) was the strongest performer, rising 4.24% or 1.04 points to finish at 25.54. Qt Group Oyj (HE:QTCOM) added 2.03% or 0.39 points to end at 19.61, and Nokia Oyj (HE:NOKIA) gained 1.76% or 0.12 points to close at 6.83.
On the downside, Kojamo (HE:KOJAMO) led laggards with a 3.28% drop, losing 0.30 points to trade at 8.86 at the close. Nokian Renkaat Oyj (HE:TYRES) declined 2.74% or 0.27 points to 9.60, while Orion Oyj B (HE:ORNBV) fell 2.57% or 1.80 points to finish at 68.25.
Market breadth and index detail
Market breadth in Helsinki was skewed toward declines, with falling stocks outnumbering advancing ones by 109 to 61, and 22 issues ending unchanged. The OMX Helsinki 25 registered a modest gain of 0.10% by the close.
Notable technical milestone
Shares of Neste Oyj (HE:NESTE) rose to a 52-week high during the session, closing up 4.24% at 25.54.
Commodities and currency moves
Brent oil for May delivery climbed 4.72% or 4.14 to $91.94 a barrel. US crude for April delivery rose 4.41% or 3.68 to $87.13 a barrel. In precious metals, the April Gold Futures contract fell 1.12% or 58.76 to trade at $5,183.34 a troy ounce.
In currencies, EUR/USD was essentially unchanged with a 0.33% move to 1.16, and EUR/GBP was up 0.29% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.41% to 99.21.
Context note
The session combined gains in energy-linked and telecom names with broader market weakness in a larger number of individual stocks, while commodity markets saw notable strength in oil and a pullback in gold futures.