A Mixed Day for the Helsinki Stock Exchange: A Closer Look at Friday’s Performance and Insights from Analysts

The Helsinki Stock Exchange opened on Friday with a decline, but the trend turned to a clear rise during the day. The general index closed up 0.7 percent at 9,838 points. The most traded stock of the day was Nordea, which had announced its results the day before. The bank’s stock closed up 1.4 percent. Nokia, which also announced its results on Thursday, was the second most traded stock and rose 2.5 percent during the day. Although the company’s first-quarter figures did not meet expectations, Nokia anticipates that the foundations of the mobile network business have been seen.

During the day, Elisa gained the most with a 4.4 percent increase after announcing its earnings. The telecom operator’s operating profit in January-March was 112 million euros, slightly below analyst expectations. However, Elisa maintained its instructions for turnover and comparable EBITDA for 2024.

Other companies that announced their results on Friday were Middle Soul, Morning, and QPR Software. Alma Media’s first-quarter result was slightly below analyst expectations, with the company’s stock closing unchanged.

Gofore had a slower first quarter compared to previous growth and profitability development, causing its stock to close up by 3.9 percent.

QPR Software had a positive operating result for the first time since 2019 and closed down by 8.5 percent.

Ponsse lowered its guidance for 2024 while Valoe secured funding for a restructuring program.

Several target prices and recommendations were adjusted for different companies by various analysts based on their earnings announcements and guidance updates.

The market saw a mix of positive and negative movements based on these announcements and adjustments in target prices and recommendations for different stocks.

Overall, it was a day of mixed results at the Helsinki Stock Exchange as some stocks performed better than expected while others did not meet expectations or experienced negative movements due to various reasons such as lower profitability or slower growth compared to previous periods.