The Stockholm Stock Exchange closed lower on Thursday. Prices initially rose, with the outcome of the US midterm elections shaping trading. But when Wall Street opened with sharp declines – particularly in technology – the Swedish market was dragged down in the sell-off.
Brent crude rose after Wednesday’s plunge of more than 8 percent. The morning also brought a lower-than-expected inflation rate in Sweden in October. Elsewhere in Europe, the Bank of England raised its interest rate as expected.
At the close, the OMXS30 index was down 0.32 percent at 3,301.09. Shares worth approximately SEK 36.0 billion changed hands on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Among the exchange’s major industrial sectors, real estate posted the best performance, rising 2.24 percent. At the other end, telecom was the weakest sector, down 2.11 percent.
Among the leading stocks included in the OMXS30 index, Nibe B rose 2.1 percent while Essity B gained 1.9 percent. ABB was the weakest performer, down 4.3 percent, while Ericsson B fell 4.2 percent.
Shares in drug development company Egetis Therapeutics surged 11.3 percent to SEK 11.12 after US-based ANI Pharmaceuticals submitted a recommended cash offer worth SEK 5.3 billion, including the outstanding convertible and warrants. The offer of SEK 11.25 per share represents a premium of 12.6 percent compared with Wednesday’s closing price.
Power and automation company ABB fell 4.3 percent. China has informed SoftBank that the authorities will not approve the acquisition of ABB’s robotics division for USD 5.4 billion, which ABB confirms. China accounts for around 30 percent of the robotics business.
Construction company Skanska’s operating profit amounted to SEK 2,072 million, below the expected SEK 2,319 million according to Factset. Order intake in the construction business rose to SEK 68 billion from SEK 39.9 billion and contributed to a record-high order backlog of SEK 328 billion. The share fell 1.4 percent.
Communications services company Sinch’s adjusted EBITDA rose to SEK 967 million from SEK 915 million, slightly above the expected SEK 964 million. Revenue was also slightly higher than expected. The share fell 1.9 percent.
Ericsson fell 4.2 percent after Elon Musk’s SpaceX signed a multiyear agreement with Qualcomm on technology for a nationwide terrestrial 5G network in the US. SpaceX is also reportedly negotiating access to around 80,000 tower sites.
Real estate company Hufvudstaden increased its profit from property management by just over 6 percent to SEK 424 million. The board has also decided to initiate a buyback of its own shares for a maximum of SEK 1 billion. The share rose 4.2 percent.
Gaming entertainment company MTG reported adjusted EBITDA of SEK 693 million, slightly above expectations of SEK 686 million. The share plunged 9.7 percent.
Game developer Coffee Stain’s cash EBIT amounted to SEK 75 million, below the expected SEK 80.7 million. Revenue was also slightly lower than expected. The share was down 3 percent.
Mining company Lundin Mining’s adjusted EBITDA amounted to USD 648 million, above the expected USD 600 million according to Bloomberg. At the same time, the company lowered its copper production forecast following weather-related disruptions. The share fell 5.6 percent.
Plumbing company FM Mattsson’s organic sales growth increased to 9.9 percent in the third quarter, from 6.6 percent. The share fell 4.8 percent.
Ski resort company Skistar has performed strongly in recent days. Today, the share is up 2.8 percent and closed at SEK 197.
In the analyst flow, Arctic is noted to have initiated coverage of Vicore Pharma with a Buy recommendation and a target price of SEK 36. The share surged 9.4 percent.
Danske Bank downgraded Cibus to Hold from Buy. Cibus rose 2.1 percent.
