Market overview
Finland's equity market closed lower on Friday, with the OMX Helsinki 25 retreating 1.37% by the end of trading in Helsinki. Losses were concentrated in Basic Materials, Healthcare and Utilities, which collectively weighed on the benchmark's performance.
Index movers
The session's strongest performer on the OMX Helsinki 25 was Hiab Oyj (HE:HIAB), which climbed 9.18% or 4.16 points to finish at 49.48. Neste Oyj (HE:NESTE) added 2.62% or 0.68 points to close at 26.60, while Elisa Oyj (HE:ELISA) gained 1.12% or 0.46 points to end the day at 41.56.
On the downside, Kemira Oyj (HE:KEMIRA) was the weakest name, sliding 7.62% or 1.46 points to close at 17.70. Stora Enso Oyj R (HE:STERV) fell 5.50% or 0.56 points to 9.67, and UPM-Kymmene Oyj (HE:UPM) declined 5.48% or 1.45 points to 25.01. Notably, shares of Kemira fell to 52-week lows during the session.
Breadth and participation
The Helsinki Stock Exchange saw falling issues outnumber advancing ones by 115 to 64, while 10 stocks finished unchanged, signaling a broad market tilt toward declines at the close.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity prices showed mixed moves. Brent oil for June delivery was down 0.47% or 0.49 to $104.58 a barrel, while U.S. crude for June delivery fell 2.38% or 2.28 to $93.57 a barrel. The June gold futures contract rose 0.42% or 19.64 to trade at $4,743.64 a troy ounce.
In foreign exchange, EUR/USD was unchanged 0.30% to 1.17, and EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.02% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.24% at 98.37.
Takeaway
The session closed with a clear negative bias: sector-level weakness in Basic Materials, Healthcare and Utilities coincided with broader market declines in Helsinki. Individual stock moves were pronounced, with several index components recording multi-percent swings in either direction and one reaching a yearlow. Commodities and currency pairs provided additional context for market sentiment, showing both downward pressure in crude and modest strength in gold.