Stockholm Stock Exchange closed with minor movements on Thursday, ahead of the Midsummer celebration on Friday. The forestry sector saw a boost as Stora Enso surged following the announcement of a strategic review.
By the time the market closed, the OMXS30 index had declined by 0.5% to 2,447. Stocks worth around 27 billion SEK were traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Leading the large-cap index were SCA and Atlas Copco, with gains of 2.3% and 1.0% respectively.
SCA, along with other companies in the forestry sector like Holmen, which saw a 1.5% increase, benefited from Stora Enso’s announcement of a strategic review of its Swedish forest assets. As part of the review, the company will explore various options, including a possible separation and listing of the forestry business through a partial spin-off to a new company fully owned by all Stora Enso shareholders. Stora Enso’s stock rose by 15%.
On the flip side, the day’s losers within the OMXS30 were Sinch and Handelsbanken, which fell by 6.8% and 1.6% respectively.
Unexpectedly, Norges Bank lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% from 4.50% on Thursday, hinting at possible further cuts in 2025. This could have a negative impact on the net interest income of banks with significant exposure to Norway, particularly Handelsbanken and Nordea. Nordea’s stock retreated by 0.8%.
Saab reversed course to a 0.7% decline after an initial surge of over 4%. The defense company signed a letter of intent with the French defense procurement agency, DGA, regarding the sale of two Globaleye aircraft and related ground equipment.
Reporting company Skistar was down by 2.0%. The ski tourism company reported slightly lower operating profit in its latest report compared to the same period last year. Skistar’s CEO, Stefan Sjöstrand, mentioned during Thursday’s conference call after the report that the company will not achieve an operating margin of 18% for the fiscal year 2024/2025, which is the company’s medium-term financial goal.
SSAB postponed the commissioning of a new steel plant in Luleå by 12 months after Vattenfall Eldistribution announced that reinforcements to the transmission network for the new steel plant would not be delivered as planned. The stock dropped by 3.6%.
Invisio strengthened by 4.0%. The communication equipment company received a “significant order” worth 145 million SEK for its personal systems.