Amsterdam stock index falls more than 4 percent to lowest point in over a year

It was another tense day for stock traders in the Netherlands, with the Euronext Amsterdam exchange suffering another sharp loss on Friday. The AEX-Index closed at 841.29 points, down 36.13 points in a day for a loss of 4.12 percent. That was the lowest closing point since Feb. 7, 2024, when the market was in the middle of a bull run.

All 25 of the companies included in the AEX lost value on Friday. Steel company ArcelorMittal was the biggest loser, with share prices falling nearly 9 percent. The two biggest banks, ING and ABN Amro, also suffered losses of almost 8 percent. Shell dipped nearly 6 percent, and microchip machine company ASML saw a drop of over 7 percent.

The index had already dropped 2.7 percent on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump's new round of tariffs were announced. It had already fallen further to a 12-month low by the afternoon. Investors were rattled by concerns about the escalating global trade war, with China hitting the U.S. with 34 percent tariffs on American products after Trump announced new import tariffs on Wednesday affecting products from nearly everywhere in the world.

The fear is that global trade will become increasingly difficult as countries bombard each other with ever-higher import duties. As national economies have become increasingly intertwined in recent years, this could slow growth or even cause contraction. The uncertainty is weighing heavily on investor confidence.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that European countries do not want to end up in a “tunnel of reaction to reaction” when it comes to trade tariffs during his regular weekly press conference on Friday. "At the same time, we defend our economic interests, are prepared for countermeasures, robust but proportionate and de-escalating."

The prime minister thinks that the import tariffs set by Trump are “very concerning” and will have severe consequences. “It causes uncertainty, affects economic growth, and endangers jobs. Companies and consumers will also have to pay the price in the Netherlands.”

The MidKap, comprised of medium-sized funds at Euronext Amsterdam, suffered an even greater loss than the AEX-Index. The MidKap was off 5.3 percent, tumbling to 781.63 points. Here, investment company CVC was the worst performer, with a loss of almost 11 percent.

Friday was deep in the red elsewhere in Europe, too. The stock exchanges in London, Paris and Frankfurt suffered losses of up to 4.3 percent. On Wall Street, the broadly composed S&P 500 was 4.1 percent lower by noon in New York. A day earlier, the markets in New York suffered their worst losses since 2020, falling by up to 6 percent.

“The market is bleeding and there is clearly more pain to come as this escalating trade war pushes the U.S. into a recession,” said Luca Paolini, the head of strategy at Pictet Asset Management, in an interview with Bloomberg.

Concerns about a global recession are also putting pressure on oil prices. After losing ground a day earlier, the price for a barrel of American oil fell 7.3 percent to $62.03. Brent oil lost 6.6 percent of its value to $65.49 a barrel.

The dollar gained back some value against the euro after a sharp decline on Wednesday. One euro was worth 1.0997 dollars at about 6 p.m. in the Netherlands.