AEX climbs ahead led by Adienne, Unibail

The AEX index on Damrak managed to find its way on Friday led by payments firm Adyen (up 3.6 percent). On the other hand, real estate group Unipile-Rodamco-Westfield was at the bottom with minus 2 percent. Analysts at US investment bank Goldman Sachs are advising the Dutch owner of Westfield Mall to sell its stake in Leitzendam due to a poor economic outlook.

Other European stock markets were also in the green after a hesitant start. Investors seem to be putting interest rate concerns aside for a while. Interest rate fears rose again earlier this week after last week’s optimism about slowing US inflation. Several policymakers at the U.S. central bank warned that it was still too early to move to smaller rate hikes in the fight against high inflation.

The AEX rose 1.1 percent to 716.25 points. Midcap gained 0.3 percent to 924.19 points. Stock markets in Frankfurt and Paris rose 1.3 percent each. London’s FTSE index rose 0.9 percent after British retail sales rose in October.

Apart from Adeon, chip machine maker ASML was the AEX’s top performer with a gain of 2.3 percent. ASML benefited from better-than-expected results from US chip company Applied Materials. Industrialists ASMI and Besi won 1.7 percent. Tech investor Process and healthcare technology group Philips were among the losers, falling as much as 1.3 percent.

PostNL fell 0.2 percent at midcap. The FNV union announced on Friday that postal and parcel workers will take action to strengthen their demand for a better collective labor agreement. Strikes are not ruled out. Flow Traders lost 0.3 percent. Investors are processing the news that CEO Dennis Dijkstra is leaving Flash Trader. As of February 1, 2023, he will hand over the baton to Chief Financial Officer Mike Kuehnel.

Heijmans rose 0.9 percent. The TRIAX consortium, which includes Heijmans, Besix and Dura Vermeer, has been awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the De Nieuwe Meer interchange.

The euro was at $1.0374, down from $1.0326 the previous day. U.S. oil prices rose 0.2 percent to $81.80 a barrel. Brent oil was down a fraction at $89.78 a barrel.