Amsterdam stock exchange dealt third straight major loss; Down 11% since Wednesday
The Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange was among many global markets suffering at least three straight days of heavy losses with investor confidence rattled amid escalating tensions between the United States and its global trade partners, particularly China. The AEX-Index of the largest companies traded on the Amsterdam exchange fell 4.76 percent to close at 801.26 points, its lowest value at closing since Jan. 23, 2024. The AEX has lost more than 11 percent after three complete business days since the Euronext Amsterdam sounded its traditional gong to signal the end of trading on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced blunt, wide-ranging tariffs equal to roughly half the rate of any country or territory's trade deficit with the United States. The tariffs have been heavily criticized for their lack of nuance and regard for the complexities of global economic policy, with Dutch central bank leader Klaas Knot one of the many expressing concern and surprise. China responded on Friday to say it planned to introduce a 34 percent tax on all goods imported from the United States.
Losses were already heavy when the market reopened on Monday, and by closing time, the AEX All-Share index, which tracks all stocks listed on the Amsterdam exchange, also saw a decline of 4.36 percent, ending at 1,047.09 points. This was driven by heavy losses in major stocks, led by information systems and analytics firm RELX, which fell by 8.63 percent to 41.08 euros, Akzo Nobel which dropped 8.46 percent to 50.00 euros, and employment firm Randstad, where the stock dropped another 8.27 percent to 32.50 euros. Unilever and Shell both suffered losses just under 5.5 percent.
Dutch finance and insurance companies had a bad day, with NN down 7 percent, ASR off 6.5 percent, Aegon down 5.7 percent, ING off nearly 4 percent, and ABN Amro falling by almost 3.2 percent. Tech and medical firms also performed poorly, like DSM down 5.63 percent, Prosus losing 5.02 percent, BE Semiconductor taking a 4.5 percent hit, ASM International sinking 3.63 percent, Philips falling 3.37 percent, and ASML off by 2.5 percent.
The AMX index, which focuses on mid-cap stocks, dropped 3.66 percent to 753.04. The ASCX index, tracking smaller companies, experienced a smaller loss, closing down 1.01 percent at 1,277.30. The market began to show signs of recovery at 15:44 CEST, with the AEX rising nearly 40 points, before falling back again as the session progressed.
The sell-off that began last week in response to the U.S. trade policies showed no signs of abating, with multiple European indices closing deeply in the red. The Euronext 100, a key index for the European markets, ended the day down 4.61 percent at 1,369.88.
The Climate Europe index closed down 4.33 percent at 1,792.83, while the Low Carbon 100 index dropped 4.40 percent to 145.24. The ESG 80 index also experienced a sharp decline, falling 4.70 percent to 1,902.90.
Currency markets reflected similar trends, with the euro slipping 0.47 percent against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1.09081. The euro also lost ground against other major currencies, including the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen.
Stock derivatives also saw heightened activity, reflecting the volatility. Shell stock options were the most actively traded, with 52,965 contracts, followed by KPN with 32,050 contracts and ING with 27,614 contracts.
