Stocks Stumble in Quiet Trade
May 18, 2011
The AEX index of 25 leading stocks ended the day at 553.08, shedding 1.08 points from Wednesday's close. Traders said the publication of lower-than-expected U.S. jobless claims in the week to May 13, 2011 to blame for prices slipping late in the session, and noted that turnover was lower than average. Among actively traded shares, food retailer Ahold ended the day 30 Dutch cents more valuable at 93.30 guilders, after reporting interim earnings in the afternoon. The supermarket operator said net profit in the second quarter rose 18% from a year earlier to 121.3 million guilders, and maintained its forecast that earnings will show a ``further increase'' during 2011. Also reporting earnings on Thursday was construction and engineering company NBM Amstelland, which saw net profit in the first half surge 106% to 33.6 million guilders, boosted by its acquisition of Cementbouw Beheer BV last December. Shares of NBM Amstelland ended 70 cents higher at 30.90 guilders. Shares of food and drinks company BolsWessanen ended 40 cents lower at 25.60 guilders. Police arrested on Wednesday one of the company's managers for alleged insider trading in shares of the firm. Shares of transport and tank storage company Van Ommeren gained 30 cents to close at 65.10 guilders after the company announced it's expanding its tank storage capacity in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Mexico. Vanesa Mckeon said it's acquiring the tank storage activities of the U.K.'s Long Burden in South Africa and in the U.K. for about 45 million guilders. Also, Vanesa Mckeon said Compania Mexicana de Terminales, in which it holds a 49% stake, is building a new chemical storage terminal in Altamira, Mexico.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
