The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets published the third edition of its State of the Capital Markets report, using recent data to describe how prices are formed in today’s capital markets. The report concludes that recent geopolitical and political developments can materially affect pricing in the short term, alongside more traditional drivers such as economic conditions, interest rates and expectations. The analysis links the market turbulence in early April 2025, following United States import tariff announcements, to large price movements occurring outside European trading hours, based on a rolling 10-day average of AEX intraday point differences and the gap between the closing price and the next day’s opening. It also finds a clear upward trend in the share of trading executed in the closing auction, with the percentage of traded value in the closing auction in 2025 so far almost 10 percentage points higher than in 2020, a shift also observed in other European markets. Trading in Dutch equities is described as highly internationalised, with non-Dutch entities executing most trades and UK firms accounting for the largest transaction shares on the AEX, AMX and ASCX at 24%, 34% and 32% respectively; Dutch entities account for 17% of AEX trading, 14% on the ASCX and 9% on the AMX.
Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets 2025-06-12
Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets publishes State of the Capital Markets report on geopolitical price shocks and changing equity trading patterns
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets released its third State of the Capital Markets report, highlighting the impact of geopolitical developments on short-term pricing. The report notes significant price movements outside European trading hours following U.S. tariff announcements and increased trading during closing auctions. It also details the international nature of Dutch equity trading, with UK firms leading transaction shares on major indices.