Stocks in Sweden finished the Wednesday trading session in negative territory, led by retreats in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Healthcare sectors.
At the close in Stockholm, the benchmark OMX Stockholm 30 index was down 1.90%.
On the OMX Stockholm 30, Tele2 AB (ST:TEL2b) was among the session's best performers, rising 1.31% or 2.15 points to finish at 166.65. Telia Company AB (ST:TELIA) also gained ground, adding 0.87% or 0.39 points to close at 45.33. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Class B (ST:ERICb) ended slightly lower, down 0.24% or 0.25 points to 105.30.
At the other end of the index, Boliden AB (ST:BOL) posted the largest decline, falling 5.18% or 27.30 points to trade at 499.90 at the close. Hexagon AB ser. B (ST:HEXAb) dropped 4.10% or 3.38 points to end the day at 79.00, while H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB B (ST:HMb) declined 3.87% or 6.50 points to 160.10.
Market breadth in Stockholm was tilted toward losers, with 543 stocks declining compared with 204 advancing. An additional 51 issues finished unchanged.
Commodity markets registered pronounced moves during the session. Crude oil for August delivery rose 7.69% or 5.42 to $75.86 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery climbed 8.28% or 6.14 to $80.30 a barrel. In contrast, the August Gold Futures contract fell 2.69% or 111.65 to trade at $4,045.75 a troy ounce.
Currency crosses involving the Swedish krona also moved: EUR/SEK increased 0.36% to 11.10, while USD/SEK was up 0.49% at 9.74. The US Dollar Index Futures showed a 0.24% uptick to 101.02.
This session was marked by sectoral weakness in Basic Materials, Industrials and Healthcare, a wide imbalance between decliners and advancers on the exchange, and sizable moves in both energy and precious metals markets. The stocks highlighted above reflect the day's divergent performance within the OMX Stockholm 30.