The Stockholm stock exchange fell on Thursday. The performance was weaker than that of the leading European exchanges. Investors are concerned about the rising market interest rates and higher oil prices in recent days. In the news flow, H&M and Arjo fell.
As expected, the Riksbank left the policy rate unchanged at 1.75 percent. The Executive Board considers that the policy rate needs to be raised further going forward compared with the previous forecast in June. If the inflation and economic outlook holds, rate hikes are expected to begin this year, the Riksbank assesses. Two rate decisions remain before year-end.
On the international arena, focus is on the US and China, with today’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The countries have agreed to extend their trade truce until 10 January, meaning that lower tariffs will remain in place and the flow of rare earth metals will continue.
At the close, the OMXS30 index was down 1.38 percent at 3 271.25. Shares worth approximately SEK 19.5 billion were traded on the Stockholm stock exchange.
Among the stock exchange’s larger industrial sectors, energy performed best, rising 1.1 percent. At the other end, real estate was at the bottom, down 2.4 percent.
Among the leading shares included in the OMXS30 index, Handelsbanken A rose 0.7 percent, while Telia was up 0.3 percent. EQT had the weakest performance, down 4.2 percent, while Ericsson B fell 3.1 percent.
Clothing company H&M’s operating profit in the third quarter came in just over 18 percent above analysts’ expectations. Net sales and gross margin were in line with consensus. Analysts highlighted that the better-than-expected results were affected by positive one-off effects from tariffs. The report also showed that inventories have increased. Sales in September, the first month of the fourth quarter, are expected to have increased by 1 percent. The share fell 2.0 percent.
Medical technology company Arjo fell 5.3 percent. The company is launching a new strategy to strengthen profitability and create a platform for more sustainable growth. The strategy involves, among other things, having a more customer-oriented operating model and aiming to improve operating profit by SEK 350 million compared with 2025 by mid-2029. Arjo expects to need to invest SEK 370 million, mainly during 2027. The initiatives are expected to lead to a structurally lower cost base and lasting improvements in operating profit.
Investment company Kinnevik’s portfolio company, biotech company Enveda, raised USD 311 million in its latest financing round, in which Kinnevik participated. Kinnevik’s share increased 0.6 percent.
Castellum’s major shareholder Roger Akelius wants the property company to sell its entire holding in Norway’s Entra and leave Denmark and Finland. He said this in an interview with EFN. In total, this concerns properties and shares worth just under SEK 20 billion. The share fell 1.6 percent.
Handelsbanken’s pension investors have sold their entire holding of just over 20.1 million D-shares in property company Intea at a price of SEK 28 per share, a discount of 10.3 percent to the D-share’s closing price on Wednesday. The B-share fell 2.6 percent, while the D-share fell 6.4 percent.
Golf equipment retailer Dormy, which was listed on First North on Thursday, got off to a good start. The offering to subscribe for shares in the company was oversubscribed several times. The share closed at SEK 74, an increase of 5.7 percent compared with the subscription price of SEK 70 per share.
Home improvement chain Clas Ohlson rose 2.2 percent after Handelsbanken initiated coverage with a Buy recommendation and a target price of SEK 520.
Idun Industrier increased 1.0 percent, boosted by SB1 Markets initiating coverage with a Buy recommendation and a target price of SEK 380.
Pareto Securities scrapped its Buy recommendation for Getinge and downgraded the recommendation to Hold. The share fell 1.1 percent.
EFN issued a Buy recommendation for outdoor company Thule. However, the share closed 0.2 percent lower.
