Stocks in Sweden ended the session lower on Thursday, with the OMX Stockholm 30 index sliding 3.53% to close at a one-month low.
The market-wide move was driven by declines in several cyclical sectors, particularly Basic Materials, Industrials and Financials, which together weighed on overall performance.
Within the OMX Stockholm 30, the day’s top performers included Evolution AB (ST:EVOG), which gained 1.07% - equal to a rise of 6.20 points - to finish at 586.00. NIBE Industrier AB ser. B (ST:NIBEb) added 0.31%, or 0.10 points, to close at 32.90. Tele2 AB (ST:TEL2b) was also listed among the better performers in the session despite a modest decline of 0.34%, or 0.65 points, ending at 191.40 in late trade.
On the downside, several large-cap industrial and materials names registered steep losses. Boliden AB (ST:BOL) led decliners, falling 8.60% - a drop of 52.60 points - to close at 558.80. Epiroc AB Class A (ST:EPIRa) lost 7.30%, or 17.30 points, to finish at 219.60. Atlas Copco AB Class A (ST:ATCOa) declined 5.92%, or 10.10 points, ending the day at 159.80.
Market breadth on the Stockholm Stock Exchange was decisively negative, with 593 stocks falling, 142 advancing and 59 finishing unchanged.
Commodities traded with mixed outcomes. Crude oil for May delivery rose 1.76%, or $1.68, to settle at $97.14 per barrel. Brent crude for May delivery climbed 2.33%, or $2.50, to $109.88 per barrel. In contrast, the April Gold Futures contract declined sharply, down 6.27% or $306.81, to trade at $4,589.39 a troy ounce.
Currency moves were also notable. The euro/Swedish krona exchange rate (EUR/SEK) eased 0.05% to 10.78, while the US dollar/Swedish krona rate (USD/SEK) fell 0.80% to 9.34. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.49% at 99.39.
Thursday’s session left the Swedish market with broad weakness, concentrated in industrial and materials names and accompanied by pronounced commodity swings and modest weakness in the dollar index.