Steel and banks push AEX close to 550 points | Financial

The AEX index was 1.3% higher at 548.4 points around 12:15 pm. The AMX was then 1.5% in the plus at 796.4 points. The agenda is almost empty. In the Netherlands, producer confidence increased further in September, for the fifth month in a row.

The British FTSE 100 index rose 1.5%, the German DAX with 2.3% share Deutsche Bank strengthened 3.6%, and the French CAC-40 became 1.7% more expensive.

The Brexit talks will continue on Monday. With Downing Street looking to scrap 10 parts of the deal, tough negotiations are expected.

Futures for the New York stock markets, which closed with solid gains on Friday, pointed to a higher opening of around 0.7%. Investors are on the eve of the first round of the US presidential election.

“Fear of the second corona wave”

Jos Versteeg, analyst at InsingerGilissen, emphasizes that the good start to the trading week in Amsterdam was driven by the cheerfulness on Wall Street last Friday. He points out that tech funds in the US in particular took the lead. “With the fear of a second corona wave, tech has come back into the spotlight, partly because of the strong balance sheets, which means that companies in this sector will not quickly get into financial trouble.”

This week, eyes are on the first debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Versteeg takes into account that the upcoming verbal encounters will have little impact on the mood. “It is mainly about what the result will be in the presidential elections in early November. On the one hand, Trump has done well for investors in recent years. On the other hand, the abandonment of Europe as a partner and the ongoing feud with China is not a good thing. ”

Steel is on the rise

Steelmaker entered the AEX ArcelorMittal the long list of winners with a price jump of 9.3% to € 11.28. The sale of ArcelorMittal USA to steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs at $ 1.4 billion was well received by investors. Arcelor closed an excellent deal, ING analysts praise both the purchase price and the balance sheet strengthening. ING has a purchase advice of € 18.00.

Galapagos (+ 4%) was also on the rise. The biotech company also received the green light from the European Commission for its filgotinib, shortly after the approval given by Japan. KBC raised its target price a fraction to € 145.00 with continued purchase advice. According to Versteeg, investors feared that the red light in America for the drug would also play a role in the approval in Europe.

Financial institutions also did good business. Aegon increased 5.1%, ING headed 3.6% higher. ABN was worth 4.4% more. The enthusiasm among investors about the greater participation of the Chinese insurer Ping An in the British industry peer HSBC provided support. Despite the nice recovery movement, Versteeg keeps a close eye on the upcoming performances in this sector. “Further consolidation at European banks is a difficult story.”

Real estate fund Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield gained 3.3%. Food delivery person Just Eat TakeAway thickness 1.7%. Its shareholders were advised by institutional investor voting consultancy Glass Lewis and ISS to vote in favor of the acquisition of GrubHub.

Swing weight Shell became 1.7% more expensive.

ASML after an initial loss (+ 0.3%) on the new trade restriction that Washington imposed on its customer, the largest Chinese chip maker SMIC. ASMI won 0,8%.

Fitness chain reported among the medium-sized funds Basic-Fit (+ 0.3%) to appeal the forced closure of 148 gyms in Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille. Already priced in, KBC Securities responded to the message.

Real estate fund Eurocommercial Properties led this index with an improvement of 7.4%. Pharming won 5,5%.

The manufacturer of aluminum ladders gave ‘Corona handymen’ Alumexx 40% increase in turnover to € 1.6 million. Alumexx grew particularly fast in the Netherlands: + 62%. The share rose 2.5%.

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