Stocks in Sweden finished the trading day in positive territory on Friday, as gains across Financials, Healthcare and Industrials supported an overall lift in equities.
At the close in Stockholm, the OMX Stockholm 30 index was up 0.45%.
Top performers
- Industrivarden, AB ser. C (ST:INDUc) led the index movers, adding 1.85% - a gain of 9.20 points - to finish at 506.20.
- Lifco publ AB (ST:LIFCOb) gained 1.71%, or 5.00 points, to close at 297.40.
- Epiroc AB Class A (ST:EPIRa) rose 1.63%, an increase of 4.40 points, ending the session at 274.70.
Lagging names
- SAAB AB ser. B (ST:SAABb) was the weakest among the headline stocks, slipping 1.20% or 6.90 points to 569.30.
- Svenska Cellulosa SCA AB B (ST:SCAb) declined 1.07%, down 1.10 points, to 101.80.
- AB SKF B (ST:SKFb) decreased 0.98%, a fall of 2.40 points, to 242.90 at the close.
Market breadth was close to balanced: 377 stocks advanced on the Stockholm exchange, 370 declined and 60 finished unchanged.
Commodities and FX
In commodities trading, U.S. crude oil for July delivery fell 1.33%, down $1.18, to $87.72 per barrel. Brent crude for August delivery dropped 1.67%, or $1.55, to $91.15 per barrel. Gold futures for August rose 1.47%, an increase of $66.61, trading at $4,599.01 a troy ounce.
Currency moves included EUR/SEK slipping 0.06% to 10.77, while USD/SEK was down 0.30% to 9.22. The U.S. Dollar Index Futures eased 0.21% to 98.76.
The market close reflected modest gains concentrated in a few sectors, with Financials, Healthcare and Industrials providing the primary upward momentum for the day.
Key takeaways
- OMX Stockholm 30 finished higher by 0.45%, led by strength in Financials, Healthcare and Industrials.
- Individual movers included Industrivarden, Lifco and Epiroc among the gainers and SAAB, SCA and SKF among the decliners.
- Commodity markets were mixed to softer, with crude oil down and gold higher; FX markets showed a weaker dollar versus the Swedish krona on main pairs reported.