AEX closes below 600 points due to virus fear | Financial

The AEX index closed 2.5% lower at 598.69 points. It was the first time since Thursday, December 12, that the AEX fell below 600 points. Earlier this month, the index peaked at 616 points. The AMX finished 2.6% in the minus at 913.20 points. The stock exchanges in London (-2.4%), Paris (-2.7%) and Frankfurt (-2.5%) also plunged deep into the red.

Investment strategist Simon Wiersma (ING) spoke of a “panic reaction” among investors. According to him, the price falls seem somewhat exaggerated. “Of course, the coronavirus will have a negative impact on the Chinese economy in the short term. But it is still too early to determine the extent of this. “

The mood in Asia was also depressed after it emerged that the number of infections in China by the corona virus has increased considerably. Infections have also been found in Japan, South Korea, France, Canada, the US and Thailand, among others. The Japanese stock market closed 2% in the red this morning. The American stock markets price 1.6% to 2% lower at the end of the afternoon.

In addition to the turmoil about the corona virus, European stock markets were also hit by disappointing figures about the German economy today. The confidence of German entrepreneurs in the economy declined this month. “This is affecting the market quite unexpectedly,” analyst Bas van Geffen (Rabobank) explained.

Prosus biggest loser

Was in the AEX Prosus the largest faller with a loss of 4.5%. The tech investor is connected via parent company Naspers to the Chinese internet giant Tencent.

Steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal was worth 3.7% less. Stock weight Royal Dutch Shell lost 1.8% due to the considerably lower oil price.

Philips left 2.9%. The healthcare technology group will publish annual figures on Tuesday. Investors are also looking forward to the results of KPN (-2.6%) on Wednesday and the figures from Shell and Unilever (-1%) on Thursday. ASML (-4.3%) reported sounding annual results last week, but the expectations of the chip machine manufacturer for the current quarter were disappointing.

IMCD kept the damage reasonably limited with a minus of 0.5%. The German investment bank Berenberg has put the chemical distributor on the purchase list.

Flow Traders white raven

Benefited in the AMX Flow Traders from the increased nervousness in the stock markets. The stock market intermediary received 2.5%. Pharmacy company Fagron went up 1.7%.

Air France KLM closed the line in the long list of fallers with a loss of 5.6%. The aviation group was also worth 10% less last week. Investors think that the corona virus will mainly affect airline companies.

When the small cap funds fell NSI with a plus of 0.8%. The real estate fund reports the results for 2019 on Tuesday.

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