Shares of SSAB AB (STO:publ) last traded at 36.17, representing a move of -4.79%, or -1.82 per share, on volume of 2.38M shares. After opening the trading day at 37, shares of SSAB AB traded in a close range. SSAB AB currently has a total float of 920.71M shares and on average sees 3.63 million shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 29.34 and high of 53.44.

The OMX Stockholm 30 Index: Driving Sweden Economy

The OMX Stockholm 30 Index, or OMXS30, is the stock index for the 30 largest and actively traded companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, better known as Nasdaq Stockholm. SSAB AB is also represented at the market. The index is market capitalization-weighted and it is reshuffled twice a year where components that fall short of listing requirements are dropped and newly qualified stocks added. Dropped stocks can be readmitted to the index if they meet the requirements in the next rebalancing.

OMXS30 is adjusted to reflect changes in the market cap of its components. Such changes can result from companies issuing new stock to raise capital or convertible notes converting to stock if such transactions affect the market capitalization of the component.

OMXS30 was developed with a base value of 125 points in September 1986. The index went on to plunge to a record low of 98.86 points in November 1987, with the decline was linked to Black Monday rout that saw many stock markets shed huge value over a short time. Stock markets began crashing in Hong Kong on October 19, 1987 and spread quickly to Europe to the U.S. However, OMXS30 gradually recovered from the trough and hit its all-time high of 1719.93 points in April 2015.

OMXS30 is a key benchmark index for Stockholm stocks. SSAB AB stocks is trusted enough to be in OMXS30. Components of the index represent various industries. Financials, Industrials and Consumer services are the largest sectors in OMXS30.

Nasdaq Stockholm

Nasdaq Stockholm, Sweden’s primary stock exchange, lists more than 300 companies. The stock market was established 1863, but has changed names multiple times, including after the merge between futures exchange OM and Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Electronic trading on Nasdaq Stockholm was introduced in June 1990. Before the electronic trading was enabled on the exchange, all trading took place on the floor of the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building floor.

Trading on Nasdaq Stockholm begins at 9.00 a.m. and runs through 5.30 p.m. every weekday. SSAB AB leads its operations until the last hour. The market is closed on weekends and holidays announced by the exchange.

Excitement in Stockholm stocks

Nasdaq Stockholm has been active in recent years as lower interest rates in the Eurozone fuel stock investment. The lower costs of credit in the Eurozone are part of economic stimulus measures that have helped lift consumer purchase power, especially backing growth and profitability in consumer products companies. The European Central Bank has also stepped up its bond buying to increase the supply of cash in the region’s economy.

Sweden is particularly reaping the benefits of the cheap money in Europe because of its vibrant Financials sector. That is partly Swedish stocks are seeing an influx of investors from domestically, the Europe region and beyond. Investors are further attracted by glowing growth prospects of companies in the country as cheap money due to low interest rates drives uptake of industrial equipment. A booming services and manufacturing industries and strong corporate governance standards are some of the reasons retail investors are buying up Swedish stocks. Stocks SSAB AB are in the main sphere of interest for some investors.

Investor drift to Sweden in the recent months can also be linked to expectations that the country will reap from Brexit crisis as some financial services providers relocate from London.

More recent SSAB AB (STO:publ) news were published by: Businesswire.com which released: “SSAB Announces the Terms of Its Rights Issue – Business Wire” on May 24, 2016. Also Businesswire.com published the news titled: “SSAB: Final Result of SSAB’s Rights Issue – Business Wire” on June 27, 2016. Streetinsider.com‘s news article titled: “Form N-PX BLACKROCK ADVANTAGE GLOB For: Jun 30 – StreetInsider.com” with publication date: August 30, 2018 was also an interesting one.

SSAB AB produces and sells steel products in Sweden and internationally. The company has market cap of $33.30 billion. It operates in five divisions: SSAB Special Steels, SSAB Europe, SSAB Americas, Tibnor, and Ruukki Construction. It has a 10.5 P/E ratio. The firm offers wear steels for maximum payload and service life; structural steel; prehardened tool steel; and protection plates.