The Stockholm Stock Exchange was on the rise at midday, led by index-heavy banks. The market continues to digest a steady stream of quarterly reports, with Skanska shares taking a hit. Additionally, Swedish inflation figures released showed a slightly lower-than-expected inflationary pressure in January.

At around 12:50 p.m., the OMXS30 index was up 0.62 percent at 3,108.69. Shares worth approximately SEK 9.3 billion had been traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Among the major industrial sectors, finance performed best with a 0.7 percent gain. The banking subsector rose about 1.5 percent. On the other hand, consumer staples and real estate were at the bottom, down 0.7 percent.

Among the leading OMXS30 stocks, Saab B climbed 4.2 percent while Addtech B was up 2.8 percent. Skanska B performed worst, down 2.5 percent, while SCA B fell 1.4 percent.

The major banks posted positive developments, partly supported by gains across Europe. Handelsbanken A rose 2.4 percent, SEB gained 2.1 percent, Swedbank 1.7 percent, and Nordea 1.5 percent.

Construction company Skanska's Q4 report showed an operating profit in line with expectations at SEK 2,981 million. Skanska is raising its regular dividend to SEK 8.50 from SEK 8, and is also proposing an extra dividend of SEK 5.50.

Real estate company Balder increased its management profit in the fourth quarter to SEK 1,590 million from SEK 1,526 million. No dividend is proposed, but Balder suggests distributing its entire holding in Norion Bank to shareholders. Balder shares fell 1 percent.

Engineering group Beijer Alma reported revenue and adjusted EBITDA of SEK 281 million, which was lower than expected in the fourth quarter. A regular dividend of SEK 4.00 per share is proposed; expectations were SEK 3.98. Beijer Alma also announced new financial targets, including an EBITA growth of over 15 percent per year over an economic cycle. Additionally, the company aims to achieve capital efficiency (EBITA/operating capital) of over 50 percent. The share dropped 2.4 percent.

Technology trading company Lagercrantz rose 5.3 percent after its Q3 report showed a higher-than-expected EBITA profit of SEK 513 million, compared to an expected SEK 482 million.

E-commerce company Boozt's adjusted operating profit rose to SEK 306 million from SEK 307 million. The outcome was higher than the expected SEK 282 million. Boozt expects net sales growth for 2026 in local currency in the range of 3–8 percent, and an adjusted operating margin of 5.3–6.5 percent.

Software company Vitec Software surged over 9 percent. EBITA profit was better than expected at SEK 268 million, compared to an expected SEK 245 million. A regular dividend of SEK 3.68 per share is proposed (previously 3.60). Expectations were SEK 3.51.

Credit management company Hoist's revenues were 20 percent better than expected in the fourth quarter. The board proposes raising the regular dividend to SEK 3.26 as well as an extra dividend of SEK 2.74. The share climbed 12 percent.

Technology trading company Berner Industrier soared 17 percent. The company doubled its EBITA profit to SEK 28 million in Q4. The company also announced updated financial targets. The new profitability goal is for EBITA to show average growth of at least 15 percent per year over an economic cycle.

Aerospace technology company CTT Systems reported significantly lower revenue and operating profit in the fourth quarter compared to the same period the previous year. Operating profit landed at SEK 7.0 million versus SEK 34 million in the corresponding period. The share plummeted 26 percent.

Among other news, home improvement chain Clas Ohlson increased its sales by 12 percent in January. The share rose 4.6 percent.

On the analysis front, SEB upgraded Hexatronic to buy (hold). The share jumped 8.7 percent.

SEB also upgraded NCC to buy (hold). The share rose 8 percent.

SEB upgraded Röko to buy (hold) as well. The share was up 0.3 percent.

Pareto Securities downgraded Betsson to hold (buy). The share dropped 2.1 percent.