Swedish equities finished the trading session higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark OMX Stockholm 30 adding 1.20% at the close in Stockholm. Advances were concentrated in the Basic Materials, Healthcare and Industrials sectors, which collectively pushed the market upward.
The day's top performer on the OMX Stockholm 30 was EQT AB (ST:EQTAB), which climbed 5.48% or 15.00 points to finish at 288.80. Svenska Cellulosa SCA AB B (ST:SCAb) followed, gaining 2.85% or 3.10 points to end at 110.00, and Boliden AB (ST:BOL) rose 2.66% or 15.20 points to close at 586.80.
Not all large-cap names participated in the rally. Several major banks were among the session's weakest movers. Nordea Bank Abp (ST:NDASE) fell 4.47% or 7.30 points to 156.05 at the close. Swedbank AB ser A (ST:SWEDa) declined 4.41% or 14.05 points to finish at 304.40, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB A (ST:SEBa) dropped 3.84% or 6.85 points to close at 171.55.
Breadth on the Stockholm Stock Exchange was positive, with 543 stocks ending the session higher, 181 declining and 65 finishing unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Energy prices eased during the session. Crude oil for May delivery was down 1.80% or 1.66 to $90.69 a barrel, while Brent oil for delivery in June fell 3.02% or 3.03 to $97.20 a barrel. In contrast, precious metals moved higher: the June Gold Futures contract rose 3.18% or 141.16 to trade at $4,575.26 a troy ounce.
Foreign exchange rates showed modest changes. EUR/SEK increased 0.18% to 10.81, and USD/SEK rose 0.53% to 9.34. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 99.37.
Market context and implications
The session displayed a split market: strong performances among certain cyclical and materials names contrasted with weakness in large bank stocks. The mix of commodity declines in oil and a sharp advance in gold underscores differing dynamics across asset classes within the same trading day. Currency moves were small but skewed toward a firmer dollar against the krona.