Dutch equities finished modestly higher on Thursday, with the AEX index up 0.09% at the close in Amsterdam, as gains in basic materials, financials and real estate offset declines in technology and healthcare.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by a margin of 60 to 35, with nine issues unchanged. The AEX Volatility index, which tracks implied volatility in AEX options, held steady at 21.09.
Wolters Kluwer led the gainers, rising 3.79% to 70.58, followed by CVC Capital Partners at 14.12 (+3.44%) and Relx at 31.26 (+3.10%). On the downside, ASM International fell 2.58% to 777.00, Koninklijke Philips declined 2.23% to 22.35 and ASML Holding dropped 1.55% to 1,423.40.
Commodities trading showed strength in gold and crude oil. December gold futures advanced 2.83% to $4,539.46 per troy ounce, while October crude oil futures rose 0.35% to $91.33 per barrel. Brent crude for November delivery, however, slipped 0.10% to $95.53 per barrel.
The euro held steady against the dollar, with EUR/USD flat at 1.16, while EUR/GBP was little changed at 0.86. The U.S. Dollar Index futures fell 0.62% to 98.93.
