Stocks on the Amsterdam exchange closed slightly higher on Thursday, with the benchmark AEX finishing the session up 0.11%.
Sector performance was led by gains in Oil & Gas, Industrials and Telecoms, which collectively helped push the index into positive territory by the close. Market breadth favoured advancers, with 63 issues higher against 36 decliners, while eight stocks finished unchanged.
Top performers
- IMCD NV (AS:IMCD) was the session's strongest performer, advancing 6.06% - a rise of 5.62 points to close at 98.40.
- Wolters Kluwer (AS:WLSNc) added 3.91%, or 2.62 points, to finish at 69.70.
- Akzo Nobel NV (AS:AKZO) rose 3.26%, gaining 1.66 points to end the day at 52.56.
Lagging names
- ArcelorMittal SA (AS:MT) paced the declines, slipping 2.37% - down 1.24 points to 51.04 at the close.
- ABN AMRO Group NV (AS:ABNd) fell 1.19%, a decline of 0.36 points to 29.99.
- Unilever PLC (AS:ULVR) lost 0.94%, down 0.46 points to close at 48.71.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The AEX Volatility measure, reflecting implied volatility in AEX options, remained unchanged at 21.09 (0.00%).
Energy markets moved higher: crude oil for May delivery rose 2.44% (up 2.23) to $93.52 a barrel, while Brent for June delivery climbed 3.71% (up 3.52) to $98.45 a barrel. Precious metals were firmer as well, with the June Gold Futures contract increasing 0.11% - a gain of 5.26 - to trade at $4,828.86 a troy ounce.
In foreign-exchange trading, EUR/USD was at 1.18, reflecting a 0.14% change, and EUR/GBP stood at 0.87, showing a 0.08% change. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 97.99.
Overall, the modest rise in the AEX came amid a broadly mixed session where particular sectors and individual stocks outperformed, while commodity markets displayed clear upward moves. Market participants will likely watch whether commodity momentum and any shifts in volatility influence equity direction in coming sessions.