Little spectacle on Damrak
With the earnings season behind us, this week feels like a quiet period until the release of the US jobs report this afternoon (Friday at 2:30 p.m.). The report could either positively or negatively influence the closing level of the AEX index.
The AEX index ended August at 896.62 points. This week, Amsterdam's benchmark index dropped to 884 points before climbing back to just above last week’s closing level. A modest gain overall.
Regarding corporate news, there was little excitement on the Damrak this week. Semiconductor companies ASML and Besi rose on Friday morning, driven by strong results from Broadcom. Broadcom announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop a chip competing with Nvidia’s. ASML’s share price also benefited from a UBS buy recommendation.
UBS lowered Wolters Kluwer's target price to €117 (down from €148). However, the market seemed unimpressed, as Wolters Kluwer’s share price was slightly higher on Friday morning. Unilever gained 3% this week after CEO Fernando Fernandez announced at the Barclays Consumer Staples Conference that one-quarter of the company’s 200 top managers would be replaced. Over the past 18 months, office staff has already been reduced by 18%, aiming to eliminate what Fernandez referred to as 'mediocrity.
Overall, the AEX index has made little progress since surpassing the 900-point mark in May 2023. In the same period, the STOXX Europe 600 and EURO STOXX 50 indices both gained approximately 8.5%, while the S&P 500 rose by about 15% (in euros). The AEX’s underperformance can largely be attributed to price pressure on IT companies such as ASML, ASMI, and Besi, as well as on Heineken, IMCD, Wolters Kluwer, and DSM-Firmenich. Gains in financials such as ING, NN Group, ABN AMRO, Adyen, and ASR were insufficient to offset these losses.