AMSTERDAM: Amsterdam’s blue chip AEX index hit an all-time high of 703.29 on Wednesday, surpassing its September 2000 peak, as technology and Asia-oriented shares gained after a long retreat of bank and insurer valuations.

The index, which is derived from the largest 25 companies on Euronext Amsterdam by market capitalisation and float size, posted its previous record high, at 703.18, on Sept. 5, 2000, amid the telecommunications and internet bubble.

Though the milestone comes as Amsterdam is in partial lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the city is undergoing a financial boom, attracting trading houses, financial technology companies, and companies seeking a headquarters in the European Union after Brexit.

The largest company in the index is now semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV with a market capitalisation of more than 200 billion euros ($235 billion), which sells equipment to Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung.

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