AEX price jumps more than 2% during the first trading days of 2026

The AEX was launched in 2026 and is currently one of the best performing stock market indices in the world. That obviously doesn’t mean much, because the year is only a few trading days old, but it is a good start for the stock market index, which lagged behind last year.

AEX starts strong

Bitcoin is currently the absolute star of 2026, with a return of 5 percent on January 5. Behind this we find gold with 2.40 percent, then comes the Hang Seng Index of China, and then the AEX with an increase of 2.08 percent over the first trading days.

This certainly starts the year on a positive note on the stock market. This is mainly due to enthusiasm within the chip sector, where companies such as BE Semiconductor (BESI) and ASML are off to a strong start.

BESI has already achieved an increase of more than 17 percent from the start of 2026, while ASML has already gained 13 percent. These are of course increases that give the AEX a considerable boost and show that the hype surrounding AI is not over yet.

Important week for the AEX

From a macroeconomic perspective, it promises to be an important week for the AEX. This week we will receive a few important jobs reports from the United States, which could determine a lot for the next interest rate decision of the US central bank.

In the United States we saw unemployment skyrocket to 4.6 percent in November. As a result, the US central bank is extra vigilant against a further weakening of the labor market.

If the report for December is also higher, this could result in additional interest rate cuts. That could work out well for the AEX, because it makes capital cheaper, and tech companies such as ASML and BESI can benefit from this.

For now, the market sees a 51.9 percent chance of a rate cut during the two upcoming interest rate meetings of the US central bank (January 28 and March 18). If the labor market data turns out to be weaker than expected, these percentages will rise.