Norwegian stocks finished higher at Thursday's close as sector gains in Healthcare Equipment & Services, Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences and Utilities helped lift the Oslo OBX. The benchmark rose 0.37% and reached a new all time high at the close in Oslo.
Among the top performers on the Oslo OBX, Orkla ASA (OL:ORK) led the upside, advancing 5.74% or 7.00 points to finish at 128.90. The company’s shares moved to all time highs during the session.
TGS NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA (OL:TGS) was the second-strongest name on the index, adding 5.33% or 5.60 points to close at 110.70. Tomra Systems ASA (OL:TOM) also posted gains, rising 2.84% or 3.70 points to 134.00 at the close.
On the downside, Nel ASA (OL:NEL) was among the worst performers, falling 2.67% or 0.06 points to trade at 2.11 at the close. Insurance group Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (OL:GJFG) declined 2.18% or 6.00 points to end at 269.80, while SalMar ASA (OL:SALM) slipped 2.10% or 12.50 points to 582.50.
Market breadth on the Oslo Stock Exchange favored falling shares: 142 stocks declined versus 120 advancers, and 20 finished unchanged.
Commodity markets were softer during the session. Crude oil for March delivery retreated 1.56% or 1.01 to $63.62 a barrel, while Brent oil for April delivery fell 1.54% or 1.07 to $68.33 a barrel. In precious metals, the April Gold Futures contract edged down 0.07% or 3.69 to trade at 5,094.81 a troy ounce.
Foreign exchange moves were modest. EUR/NOK rose 0.23% to 11.26 and USD/NOK moved up 0.10% to 9.48. The US Dollar Index Futures dipped 0.05% to 96.67.
This session combined a record-setting index close with mixed internals, where strong performances from select names contrasted with a larger tally of decliners. Key commodity prices and major NOK currency crosses moved only slightly, with both crude benchmarks and gold posting small declines.