The Stockholm Stock Exchange continued its upward trajectory on Thursday, bolstered by gains in international markets and positive U.S. futures. Key headlines include EQT selling shares in Beijer Ref to Melker Schörling, while Vestum announced a multi-billion kronor divestment. Meanwhile, oil prices have retreated by just over 1 percent.

Market participants are now awaiting the European Central Bank's interest rate decision, due in approximately one hour, where a 0.25 percentage point hike is widely anticipated.

By 1:00 PM, the OMXS30 index had climbed 0.75 percent to 3,077.01. Shares worth approximately SEK 6.3bn changed hands on the Stockholm exchange.

Among the major industrial sectors, engineering led the gains with a 1 percent rise. Conversely, the real estate sector lagged at the bottom, declining 1 percent.

Among the blue-chip stocks in the OMXS30 index, ABB rose 2.3 percent while Volvo B gained 1.6 percent. The weakest performers were Hexagon B, down 1.5 percent, and SCA B, which fell 0.7 percent.

Private equity firm EQT has entered into an agreement to sell its entire holding of unlisted A-shares in cooling wholesaler Beijer Ref to Melker Schörling AB (MSAB) at an undisclosed premium. In connection with the deal, Peter Jessen Jürgensen is also selling his A-shares, a portion of which will be exchanged for B-shares from EQT. Following the transaction, EQT will remain a shareholder with just over 30.7m B-shares. Beijer Ref rose 6.3 percent, while EQT edged up 0.2 percent.

Vestum has reached an agreement to sell Flowa Technology to private equity firm Nordic Capital for SEK 6.5bn in cash on a cash- and debt-free basis. In conjunction with the deal, Vestum's board has appointed Conny Ryk as the new CEO, effective immediately. The stock surged nearly 28 percent.

Camurus announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter regarding the company's marketing authorization application for CAM2029 (Oclaiz) for the treatment of acromegaly. The stock fell more than 7 percent.

Theope Seed Capital increased its stake in blood analysis company Cellavision by 125,000 shares between June 8 and 9. The total purchase price amounted to SEK 15.98m, at an average price of SEK 127.86 per share. Theope is linked to Cellavision founder and board member Christer Fåhraeus. The stock rose 4 percent.

NCC has been commissioned by Gnesta Municipality to build a new water treatment plant and a raw water pumping station. The order value is approximately SEK 120m. NCC rose 0.2 percent.

Construction firm Skanska is divesting a self-developed residential rental project on Hisingen in Gothenburg to the Folksam Group, via KPA Pension, for approximately SEK 500m. The stock fell 0.3 percent.

Pareto Securities has upgraded Volvo to Buy from Hold. The upgrade follows yesterday's capital markets day, after which Volvo's share price dropped significantly: Pareto views the price decline as exaggerated.

Kepler Cheuvreux has downgraded Investor to Hold from Buy, with a target price of SEK 403 (previously SEK 385). The stock was up 0.2 percent.