AEX rises 0.8% as Dutch chipmakers rebound

Amsterdam’s AEX rose 0.8% on Monday, lifted by a recovery in Dutch chip stocks after last week’s heavy losses. ASMI, Besi and ASML gained as much as 4.7%, despite a sharp fall in Nvidia shares amid a reported espionage investigation involving the chipmaker’s chief executive, Jensen Huang.

The AEX closed at 1,129.97 points. The MidKap index climbed 1.2% to 1,119.84, while London, Paris and Frankfurt also finished higher, with gains of up to 1.7%.

ING and ABN AMRO rose by more than 4%, and ArcelorMittal gained 3.7%. Shell fell 0.7% as oil prices continued to slide amid growing hopes of a diplomatic solution to the war in the Middle East.

Among mid-cap shares, defence companies CSG and Theon rose by nearly 5%. Sif, which makes foundations for offshore wind turbines, plunged 24% after falling sharply on Friday. The company had warned that its survival was at risk and cited uncertainty surrounding a major North Sea wind-farm order.