Stocks in Finland closed marginally higher after trading on Monday, driven by advances in Utilities, Consumer Services and Oil & Gas. At the close in Helsinki, the OMX Helsinki 25 index rose 0.11%.
Market movers
The top performers on the OMX Helsinki 25 were Metso Oyj (HE:METSO), Fortum Oyj (HE:FORTUM) and Neste Oyj (HE:NESTE). Metso finished the session up 2.35% - a rise of 0.34 points - to close at 14.80. Fortum added 1.97%, gaining 0.39 points to end at 19.95, while Neste advanced 1.69% or 0.46 points to finish at 27.64.
On the downside, Outokumpu Oyj (HE:OUT1V) led losses after slipping 3.06% - down 0.16 points - to 4.98 at the close. SSAB AB B (HE:SSABBH) retreated 2.53%, a fall of 0.21 points to 8.02, and Kemira Oyj (HE:KEMIRA) declined 1.84% or 0.31 points to 16.50.
Market breadth and notable moves
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, with 97 stocks down against 74 that rose; 23 shares finished unchanged. Notably, Kemira's shares reached a 52-week low during the session, falling 1.84% to 16.50.
Commodities and currencies
Energy benchmarks moved higher in commodity trading. Brent oil for September delivery climbed 1.64%, up $1.19, to $73.79 a barrel. US crude for August delivery rose 1.95%, gaining $1.35 to trade at $70.58 a barrel.
Precious metals lagged: the August Gold Futures contract fell 1.35%, a drop of $55.13, to trade at $4,041.17 a troy ounce.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was effectively unchanged at 1.14, while EUR/GBP held near 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures edged lower, down 0.22% to 100.90.
Context and closing note
The session showed a modest positive close for the benchmark index even as more individual stocks declined than rose. Energy-sector names and select industrials performed strongly, whereas materials and certain industrial names accounted for a number of the day's declines. Market participants also observed mixed signals from commodities and the dollar, with oil prices rising and gold retreating.