Bourse Gripped By Holiday Fever In June

Sentiment on the Amsterdam Exchanges NV in June was relatively calm, with little happening. An end to the annual reports season coupled with the start of summer vacation period meant there was less activity. The economic signals from abroad were mixed and the dollar, too, failed to generate any real impetus. The Amsterdam EOE index closed the month at 432.38 points, compared with 431.52 at the end of May.

Foreign exchanges, economic cycle and dollar trends

Trends on the foreign exchanges were extremely mixed. Wall Street continued to steam ahead, hitting several historic highs, whereby the Dow Jones Index even nudged up towards the 4,600-point threshold near the end of the month. The US exchange has gained almost 20% since the beginning of the year. Major factors contributing to the jump are the favourable corporate earnings trends and indications of a slowdown in economic growth which has fuelled hopes of falling interest rates.