Shortly after 09:30, the OMXS30 was down 2.9 percent to 2,396, with shares worth a total of 5.3 billion kronor changing hands on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Across Europe, the leading stock exchanges traded well below the zero mark. In Paris, the CAC 40 weakened by 2.5 percent, while Frankfurt’s DAX index fell by 2.6 percent.
The sharp declines in the stock market follow lower-than-expected job data in the US, which has increased concerns about a global economic slowdown and the possibility that the Federal Reserve may be too slow in preventing a recession.
Furthermore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has informed G7 colleagues that Iran and Hezbollah may attack Israel as early as Monday.
At the bottom of the Swedish large-cap index were the cloud communications company Sinch and the real estate company SBB, with declines of 6.3 and 5.4 percent, respectively.
At the top of the index were the forestry company SCA and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Both stocks traded lower, but saw milder declines of 1.5 and 2 percent, respectively.
Volvo traded down 4.2 percent after relevant statistics regarding order numbers were released by the industry organization ACT Research. The order intake for heavy trucks corresponded to an 8 percent decrease compared to June and was 13 percent lower compared to July last year.
Online brokers Avanza and Nordnet reported higher net inflows in July. However, their stocks traded down by 2.6 and 3.3 percent, respectively.
Diagnostic company Immunovia’s next-generation test for pancreatic cancer detection has been included in a state-funded study in the US. Immunovia also released its interim report on Monday morning. The stock dropped by 5.5 percent.
Jondetech surged 10 percent on the news that the sensor technology company was selected by a Tier 1 company in South Korea to develop three new prototypes for a potential market launch.
On the analysis front, Pareto Securities has raised the target price for Millicom to $32 from $30.