Exor, the Italian investment firm behind Juventus soccer club, was the biggest gainer (plus 1.8 percent) in the AEX index on Friday. The Italian football club is still in a race for a place in the European League final, after Juventus managed to avoid losing to Spain’s Seville on Thursday night.
The mood in European equity markets remained cautious throughout the day. The continuing uncertainty as to whether the Fed will stop raising interest rates seems to be the reason. The ongoing turmoil over the financial situation in US regional banks also dominated the markets. Added to this are growing concerns about the impasse surrounding the US debt ceiling. For example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of “very serious repercussions” for the United States and the global economy if the country is unable to pay its debts.
The AEX index ended the trading day up 0.3 percent at 752.99 points. The MedCap index rose 0.6 percent to 934.34 points. Stock exchanges in Frankfurt, Paris and London rose as much as 0.5 percent.
Exor was followed in the leading group in the main index in Damrak by ING (plus 1.7 percent) and chemical distributor IMCD (plus 1.6 percent). Music company Universal Music Group and payment company Adyen closed the trading day lower, with negatives of 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Philips was also among the losers, with a loss of 0.5 percent. The healthcare technology company has reached a $62 million settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged corruption in China. In that Asian country, Philips could have unfairly influenced hospital staff to sell its equipment.
In the small boxes, biotechnologist Farming recovered a bit after Thursday’s slump. The share rose 6.8 percent, thus outperforming the smaller funds. Leiden provided its quarterly numbers that day, which didn’t seem to be well received by investors. Pharming then closed down about 14 percent.
The euro was worth $1.0859 against $1.0910 the previous day. A barrel of US oil lost 0.7 percent of its value, to $70.38. Brent oil also fell 0.7 percent to $74.44 a barrel.
