Netherlands equities ended the trading day in negative territory on Thursday as sector weakness in Basic Materials, Healthcare and Industrials pulled the market lower.
At the Amsterdam close the AEX shed 2.24%, marking a fresh one-month low for the benchmark.
Market breadth was poor: decliners outnumbered advancers 82 to 17, with 4 stocks finishing unchanged. Among individual names, Shell PLC (SHEL) was the session's best performer on the AEX, edging up 0.09% to close at 40.10. Jde Peets Nv (JDEP) slipped 0.06% to 31.76, while Inpost SA (INPST) finished down 0.20% at 15.03.
The heaviest losses were concentrated among several large-cap names. Akzo Nobel NV (AKZO) plunged 7.51%, falling 3.84 points to end at 47.30, a move that pushed the stock to five-year lows. ArcelorMittal SA (MT) declined 6.21%, losing 2.83 points to close at 42.76. Prosus (PRX) also posted a substantial drop of 6.01%, or 2.59 points, finishing the session at 40.54.
Volatility measures showed little change for AEX options: the AEX Volatility index was unchanged, holding at 21.09.
Commodities exhibited notable divergence. Crude oil for May delivery rose 1.49% to $96.88 a barrel, while Brent for May delivery climbed 1.99% to $109.52 a barrel. In contrast, April Gold Futures fell sharply, down 6.29% or 307.79 points, settling at $4,588.41 a troy ounce.
Currency markets saw the euro strengthen versus the dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.76% to 1.15. EUR/GBP was recorded at 0.86 with a 0.15% reading. The US Dollar Index Futures moved lower, down 0.50% to 99.38.
Taken together, the session reflected broad investor risk-off sentiment in the Netherlands equity market, paired with rising oil prices and a pronounced drop in gold futures. The large share price falls among several major Dutch-listed companies contributed materially to the AEX's one-month low close.