At around 12.15 pm, the AEX index is 0.5% higher at 757.9 points. The stock market indicator reached its all-time high this morning at a position of 762.19 points. The AMX is up 0.7% this afternoon to 1060.6 points. Prices in London (+1.1%), Paris (+0.9%) and Frankfurt (+0.2%) are also green.
Asset manager Renco van Schie (Valuedge) gets the ‘camping rally feeling’ at the new peak that the AEX reached today. “Trading volumes are thin. Also, there is no hugely good news.” He therefore sees the record of the AEX more as a continuation of the optimism of recent weeks, in which stock prices are driven by better corporate figures, the reopening of economies and persistently stimulative central banks.
Van Schie is also positive about Chinese equities. He took advantage of the strong price declines on the Chinese stock exchanges last week to buy more shares. “China wants to regulate big tech and tackle the inequality between rich and poor. The country is now speeding up this process. For us, the panic around Chinese equities last week was a great buying opportunity.”
Elsewhere, equity markets are also on the rise. The Nikkei in Tokio ended up 1.8% this morning. The US stock markets are expected to open around 0.6% in the green this afternoon. Stocks in New York ended 0.4% to 0.7% in the red on Friday, partly due to profit taking.
This week, investors are looking forward to the US jobs report, which is scheduled for Friday. In addition to inflation, employment is an important factor in the interest rate policy of the Federal Reserve (Fed). Last weekend, Fed chief Lael Brainard said the labor market still needs to recover from the corona crisis before the central bank starts phasing out its support programs. The half-year figures of DSM, IMCD, ING and Wolters Kluwer will also be awaited at Beursplein 5 in the coming days.
In the AEX, retail property fund Unibail the leader with a plus of 2.3%. Lighting producer Signify plus 2%. The AEX is also helped by banking group ING (+1.8%), tech investor Prosus (+1.7%) and chip machine manufacturer ASML (+1,1%).
Oil and gas concern Royal Dutch Shell (+1.4%) also knows the focus is on itself. According to Bloomberg news agency, several oil companies have expressed interest in acquiring Shell’s assets in the largest oil field in the United States. Shell would like to sell those assets, partly to help reduce CO2 emissions. That could potentially bring in more than $10 billion.
The price of Heineken advances 1.3%. The brewer sold almost 10% more beer in the first half year. In the second quarter, the increase was almost 20% compared to the same period last year, when the corona crisis hit hard in many countries. However, the brewer is concerned about new corona restrictions, especially in Asian and African countries. The company also notices that raw material prices are rising, which will have consequences from the second half of the year. Heineken therefore expects the results for the whole of 2021 to remain below those of 2019.
KPN may add 0.4%. Concurrent Delta is going to considerably expand its Dutch fiber network. About 900,000 addresses are now connected to Delta’s network. That should be two million by 2025.
By informatieleveranciers Relx (-0.8%) in Wolters Kluwer (-0.8%) are at the bottom of the main funds. food giant Unilever leave 0.7%.
In de AMX is Air France KLM (+5.1%) the biggest increase. The airline group lost 4.6% on Friday after deep red half year figures.
OCI wins 2.3%. The fertilizer manufacturer reported positive quarterly figures. OCI’s profit was $121 million on revenue of $1.5 billion. The company also plans to start paying dividends again.
Fugro is the largest decliner among medium-sized funds. The soil researcher loses 3%.
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