The Stockholm Stock Exchange turned downward on Thursday following Wednesday's sharp gains. The performance in Stockholm lagged behind that seen on Europe's leading major exchanges. News flow included Swedish inflation for December coming in lower than expected.

At the close, the OMXS30 index was down 0.86 percent at 2,937.94. Shares worth approximately SEK 22.4 billion were traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Among the major industrial sectors on the exchange, consumer staples performed best with a gain of 0.3 percent. On the other hand, telecommunications lagged at the bottom, losing 2 percent.

Among the leading stocks included in the OMXS30 index, Saab B rose 2.3 percent, while Handelsbanken A was up 1.5 percent. The worst performer was Ericsson B, down 4.4 percent, while EQT fell 3.9 percent.

Pharmaceutical company Sobi climbed 2.6 percent. The company has decided to further develop Gamifant for the treatment of gamma interferon-driven sepsis, following topline data from the phase 2a Embrace study that supported proof-of-concept with observed improvements in organ dysfunction and survival. The continued development will be carried out in collaboration with the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS). Analyst firm ABG upgraded Sobi to buy from hold.

European defense companies generally advanced amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and signals of continued rearmament. Swedish Saab rose for the fifth consecutive day and set a new record high at SEK 651.10. In just the first four trading days of the year, Saab has risen by over 19 percent.

Gaming entertainment company MTG was down 0.2 percent. The company will transfer just over 6.19 million shares in its own company to the founders of Playsimple Games. The transfer will take place in January and is in accordance with agreements, including subsequent amendments, made in connection with MTG's acquisition of Playsimple in July 2021.

Segra Capital, led by founder and Chief Investment Officer Adam Rodman, has entered into an agreement to acquire 9.9 percent of the shares in nuclear technology company Studsvik from existing shareholders. The stock increased by 8.5 percent.

Clothing giant H&M was weighed down by sector news from Associated British Foods (ABF), which announced that H&M competitor Primark had a 2.7 percent decline in comparable sales during the 16 weeks up to January 3, 2026. H&M shares ended down 3.6 percent.

Real estate company K-Fastigheter has reduced its ownership in its subsidiary K-Fast Kilen to below 50 percent after selling 1.2 percent of the shares. As a result, K-Fast Kilen will no longer be reported as a subsidiary but as an associate company, effective from January 1 this year. The share fell by 0.5 percent.

On the analyst front, Goldman Sachs upgraded Volvo to buy from neutral. The stock rose 0.6 percent.

Barclays upgraded Boliden to equal weight from underweight. JP Morgan also upgraded Boliden to neutral (from underweight). The stock ended unchanged.

Jefferies upgraded Catena to hold from underperform. The share dropped 0.7 percent.

BNP Paribas downgraded Essity to neutral from outperform. The B share was up 1.1 percent.