A number of Swedish listed companies have reported quarterly results ahead of the stock market opening, including cloud service company Sinch, forestry company Holmen, and Securitas.
Sinch's report shows an upward trend of 15 percent, while Holmen's report shows an increase of over 6 percent. However, Securitas' report resulted in a price drop of over 8 percent.
As expected, the Swedish Central Bank announced on Thursday morning that the interest rate would remain unchanged. The situation is uncertain regarding economic prospects in the shadow of the Trump administration's trade war, according to the Swedish Central Bank, which, with vague hints, opens the door to potential interest rate cuts later this year.
Not at all certain, emphasizes Riksbank Governor Erik Thedéen at a press conference.
The probability of two interest rate cuts this year has increased slightly on the bond market following the announcement.
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), left its interest rate unchanged – at 4.25-4.50 percent – in a statement on Wednesday evening Swedish time.
The krona has weakened slightly against the euro ahead of Thursday's interest rate announcement. One euro now costs 10.92 kronor.
Against the dollar, the krona is trading around 9.66 kronor per dollar, which can be compared to the krona's previous low of 9.56 kronor per dollar earlier in the week.
Buying interest is increasing as Donald Trump is expected to present a new major trade agreement, likely between the US and the UK, this afternoon. This comes after the US and China scheduled a ministerial meeting on the trade war in Switzerland later this week.
The cryptocurrency bitcoin is a winner as the market dares to take greater risks and is now approaching 100,000 dollars per bitcoin again after the price collapse in connection with Donald Trump's tariff shock in early April – when the price was around 75,000 dollars.
With Thursday's price increase, the OMXS index is down 1.6 percent since the turn of the year.
