Little movement on the Damrak

This puts the AEX about 1% higher than last week's close, when Amsterdam's main index closed below the psychological 900-point mark. The Eurostoxx 600 Index recorded a similar gain.

Construction companies in the spotlight

Despite the calm market, two construction companies listed on the Midcap index unexpectedly attracted attention. BAM Group and Heijmans recorded price gains of around 8%, without any immediate news or apparent reason. As a result, their year-to-date returns are impressive: both shares are now up by no less than 90%. The Midcap index itself remained virtually unchanged this week.

ASML focuses on AI

However, there was news from Veldhoven: ASML, the flagship of the Dutch stock exchange, announced a notable investment. The company is acquiring a stake in the French start-up Mistral, which specializes in AI language models, for a total of EUR 1.3 billion. Mistral was only founded in 2023, but already has an estimated market value of around EUR 12 billion. ASML expects the collaboration to enable the development of even more advanced chip machines. - Interestingly, ASML usually invests in companies within its own supply chain. So this step towards artificial intelligence represents a strategic broadening.

Mistral previously secured funding from American giants such as Microsoft and Nvidia. ASML also collaborates with Nvidia in software communication technologies. The announcement was well received by investors: ASML's share price rose by 3.8% this week.

Renewed stock market indices

On September 22, 2025, Amsterdam will reach a special milestone: the AEX index will expand from 25 to 30 stocks. Marking its first expansion since 1989. The index was launched in 1983 with only 13 companies. With the expansion, CVC Capital Partners, JDE Peet's, InPost, Just Eat Takeaway, and WDP will join from the Midkap (AMX). These new names will ensure a broader sector diversification within the AEX.

For JDE Peet’s and Just Eat Takeaway, membership may be temporary: both could be acquired by other market players in the near future. The vacancies in the AMX will be filled by companies from the former small-cap index AscX. At the same time, the AscX will be renamed AMS Next 20. This index will be reduced from 25 to 20 companies.

Euronext restructuring

The changes are part of a broader restructuring of the Dutch stock market indices carried out by Euronext. The aim is to make the AEX more representative of the current economy and less susceptible to fluctuations caused by a few heavyweights. The 15% cap on the weighting per share, which ensures that no single company can dominate the index, will now be applied on a quarterly basis instead of an annual basis. Stricter liquidity requirements will also be imposed. All this should enhance the attractiveness of the Amsterdam stock exchange for international investors.

Outlook: unemployment figures

Next Thursday, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) will publish the unemployment figures for August in Netherlands. No other important figures from the Dutch business community are scheduled for release next week.