Stockholm stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday, with the OMX Stockholm 30 finishing the session up 0.03%. Sector strength in Healthcare, Financials and Oil & Gas provided the primary upward pressure on the index at the close.
The day's top performers on the OMX Stockholm 30 were led by AstraZeneca PLC (ST:AZN), which rose 2.93% - a gain of 48.50 points - to finish at 1,706.00. Hexagon AB ser. B (ST:HEXAb) advanced 2.75%, adding 2.34 points to end the session at 87.32. Evolution AB (ST:EVOG) also ended in positive territory, gaining 1.75% or 12.20 points to trade at 709.20 in late-session activity.
On the downside, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Class B (ST:ERICb) led decliners on the index, falling 2.20% - a drop of 2.80 points - to close at 124.20. Boliden AB (ST:BOL) declined 1.89%, losing 11.00 points to end the day at 569.80. Tele2 AB (ST:TEL2b) rounded out the largest falls, slipping 1.78% or 3.15 points to 173.90.
Market breadth in Stockholm was modestly positive, with 376 stocks rising compared with 347 that fell, while 73 issues finished unchanged. The narrow gain in the benchmark reflects a session in which gains were concentrated among a subset of large-cap names.
Commodities and currencies moved notably during the session. Crude oil for July delivery fell 3.25%, a loss of $3.12, to $92.90 a barrel. Brent crude for August delivery decreased 2.85%, down $2.79, to $95.02 a barrel. Precious metals diverged as the August Gold Futures contract rose 0.85%, gaining $38.10 to trade at $4,505.00 a troy ounce.
In foreign exchange, EUR/SEK declined 0.16% to 10.88, while USD/SEK fell 0.45% to 9.36. The US Dollar Index Futures was 0.23% lower at 99.28.
While the overall move in the OMX Stockholm 30 was small, the session highlighted sector-level dispersion driven by healthcare and industrial-related stocks on the upside and select telecom and materials names on the downside.