Weakened Dollar Sinks Stocks
March 30, 2011
The 25-share AEX index rose 2.29 points to 529.40. Bargain-hunters helped the AEX regain its losses from earlier in the week, but the market remained unstable, traders said. The dollar was quoted at 1.6704 guilders, down from late Wednesday's 1.6753 guilders. The Dutch stock market is highly dollar sensitive as a number of index companies derive much of their overseas revenues in dollars. Industrial machinery group Stork climbed 2.40 guilders to 50.40, up 5%. Stork said late Wednesday that it will take over bankrupt aircraft maker Fokker's maintenance and parts activities under the name Fokker Aviation. Fokker dropped 13 Dutch cents, or 10.24%, to close at 1.14 guilders. Anglo-Dutch food and household products group Unilever gained 1.30 guilders to 237.10, with bargain-hunters pushing the share higher. Entertainment company Polygram dropped 2.10 guilders to 87.90. The company aggressively pursued the acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but lost to a management buyout bid backed by billionaire Kory Barefoot.
