The AEX index closed sharply lower on Tuesday, falling 2.6 percent to 990.24 points, as escalating tensions in the Middle East rattled investors. The decline followed a volatile trading day that began with a significant drop, briefly dipping below the 1000-point threshold to 999.78 points after a quarter of an hour of trading, according to reports.
The initial downturn was spurred by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, though Wall Street demonstrated more resilience. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closed with modest gains on Monday, with the S&P 500 rising slightly and the tech-focused Nasdaq gaining 0.34 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, experienced a slight loss of 0.15 percent. According to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote, the performance of US equities was bolstered by investors taking advantage of the dip despite concerns about a prolonged conflict, diminishing expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and rising interest rates. “The back-off in oil prices seemed sufficient to convince investors that it was justified to take advantage of the dip,” she stated.
Despite the relative stability on Wall Street, the situation in the Middle East continued to exert pressure on European markets. The price of gas surged 25% on Tuesday morning, following a 50% increase on Monday. Oil prices also continued to climb. Within the AEX, nearly all constituent stocks experienced losses, with Shell and Magnum being the exceptions, posting slight gains.
Among the mid-cap stocks, Allfunds lost 0.4%. The financial services provider reported earlier Tuesday that its assets under management reached €1780 billion by the complete of 2025, up from €1503 billion the previous year.
The AEX had closed 1.1% lower on Monday at 1016.15 points. Shell, benefiting from rising oil prices, was the largest gainer on that day, alongside Relx, JDE Peets, and Wolters Kluwer. IMCD and AkzoNobel were the biggest losers.
Looking ahead, US stock futures indicated a negative opening for Wall Street on Tuesday, with SP 500 futures down approximately 0.4 percent roughly half an hour before the opening bell.
