THE HAGUE - The value of Dutch households' investments in listed companies fell by 3 billion euros in the first quarter of this year, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) reported. The almost 5 percent drop compared to the fourth quarter was mainly due to falling stock prices and partly due to the sale of shares.
According to DNB, this is the second-largest decrease since 2018, when it started keeping track of this data. A more significant loss was recorded only in the first quarter of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. The value of Dutch households' shareholdings then decreased by 8.9 billion euros, a drop of almost 20 percent. At the time, stock prices fell sharply due to unrest in the financial markets about the coronavirus.
Dutch households own a total of 58.9 billion euros in shares, about the same as in the middle of last year. In October 2021, the value reached a record of 62.6 billion euros, according to DNB.
According to the central bank, Dutch households invest most in oil and gas group Shell, owning a total of 5 billion euros in shares.