Stock markets in Sweden closed modestly higher on Monday, with sector advances in Telecoms, Oil & Gas and Financials supporting a gain for the benchmark index.
Market close - At the end of trading in Stockholm, the OMX Stockholm 30 was up 0.30%.
Top performers - The session's strongest performers on the OMX Stockholm 30 included Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Class B (ST:ERICb), which climbed 2.76% - a rise of 3.00 points - to finish at 111.60. Telia Company AB (ST:TELIA) added 1.44%, up 0.68 points to close at 47.80. Svenska Handelsbanken AB A (ST:SHBa) was also among the leaders, gaining 1.35% or 1.85 points to end the day at 138.85.
Lagging stocks - On the downside, Evolution AB (ST:EVOG) registered the largest drop, falling 1.61% or 9.60 points to close at 587.00. Volvo, AB ser. B (ST:VOLVb) declined 1.14%, down 3.70 points to 320.30 at the close. Alfa Laval AB (ST:ALFA) slipped 0.65% or 3.40 points to finish at 521.00.
Breadth and notable highs - Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners on the Stockholm exchange, with 381 stocks up, 357 down and 67 unchanged. Shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Class B rose to a three-year high at 111.60. Telia Company AB shares reached a five-year high at 47.80.
Commodities and currencies - Commodity markets moved lower during the session. Crude oil for May delivery fell 2.83%, down $2.74 to $94.10 a barrel. Brent oil for May delivery dropped 1.41% or $1.45 to $101.69 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract declined 1.24%, down $62.75 to trade at $4,998.95 a troy ounce.
In currency trading, EUR/SEK decreased 0.59% to 10.75 while USD/SEK fell 1.31% to 9.35. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.50% at 99.61.
Monday's session delivered a modest overall advance for Swedish equities, with mixed results across individual large-cap names and notable price movements in energy, precious metals and foreign exchange markets accompanying the close.