The AEX index on the Amsterdam stock exchange closed lower on Friday. Payment company Adyen was the biggest loser of the day, dropping nearly 9%. The sharp fall came after an American investment firm reported that Adyen is losing market share and facing much tougher competition.
Chip companies like ASMI, Besi, and ASML also had a bad day, losing up to 4.3% following similar drops in the US and Asia. Steelmaker ArcelorMittal fell by 4.7% as well. Overall, the AEX index went down by 0.6% to finish at 1041.10 points, matching drops on the stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt.
On the positive side, consumer giant Unilever was the biggest winner, rising more than 3%. Paint company AkzoNobel went up by 1.2%, continuing to benefit from a positive recommendation by investment bank Citi.
Heineken shares rose by 1.9%. Major investors are asking the brewer to quickly name a successor to CEO Dolf van den Brink, who left at the end of May. According to the Financial Times, several large shareholders want Heineken to break its tradition of promoting from within and hire an outside boss to help turn the company around.
In the medium-sized company index, biotech firm Pharming rose over 3% and building company Heijmans went up 2.5% after a positive report from ING. On the downside, metals specialist AMG dropped 4%, airline group Air France-KLM fell 1.2% after a downgrade by Barclays bank, and global oil prices fell by up to 2.6%.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
